Cats And Dogs
by Kare Uta
Summary: Mr Dickinson hires someone to help train the team, or maybe even do a bit more than that. Most of the team easily adjust to her, one doesnt though. KaiOC and frinedship story between Kai and the rest of the team.
1. Meetings without a choice

**OC Profile:**

**Name: **Tori Komatsu

**Age: **16

**Race: **Japanese

**Eyes: **Dark Brown

**Hair: **Auburn

**Outfit: **Changes.

**Personality: **Kind hearted, gentle and caring but a bit fierce in training.

**Likes: **Martial arts, dogs

**Dislikes: **Being ignored, being alone for too long.

**Beyblade: **Dark green and pink

**Bit-beast: **Denzelle- White tiger/human, ice and earth elements.

**Cats And Dogs**

_**Chapter 1**_

6:30am and a thin figure jogged through the streets. The early morning sun shining on her long auburn hair that was pulled back tightly. She ran round a corner, accidentally bumping into someone, pushing her back but she gripped the wall and caught her balance. "Watch where you're going!" he shot angrily, walking past the startled girl.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, watching the boy walk away.

**---Two Days Later---**

Kai, Ray, Max and Tyson patiently sat outside Mr Dickinson's office. He had called them about a week before, informing them that he had met someone who could help them prepare for the next tournament. They were soon told that they could go inside and as they went in they caught sight of a 16 year old girl in the chair opposite Mr Dickinson's desk.

Kai's eyes widened slightly in surprise, realizing she was the girl he had bumped into a few days earlier.

_**---Flashback---**_

Kai walked through the dark empty streets. He'd been walking around ever since he had woken up from a nightmare, 4:43am exactly. He leaned against a wall, breathing a sigh of frustration. He pushed himself up again, it was now 6:30am and thought he should get back before the others realized he was missing. He walked round the corner but crashed into a girl. He could really see what she looked like because of the lake of light in the street but noticed her auburn hair and how tall she was.

_**---End Flashback---**_

Her silky shoulder length hair was pulled back neatly and she now wore a pink and black track suite and a basket ball gripped tightly in her hands. Soon they were told that she would be in charge of training them, she had moved there from travelling after so long. So far the teenager had said nothing but turning to the others she stood up and placed a hand out in front of her, "So… I'm Komatsu Tori." She introduced, her slight American accent startling all of them. **(A/N: In Japan the surname comes first so 'Komatsu' is her surname while 'Tori' is her first name.)**

Later, when asked by Mr Dickinson what she thought of the team she smiled. Her smile was sweet and innocent despite how harsh she had looked and how intimidating she looked as a girl of 5'6, which was too tall for a Japanese girl. She eyed them all, her eyes falling particularly on Kai, who didn't even acknowledge her existence since the second he walked into the room, "I think things will be fine." she replied, smiling back at him.

Mr Dickinson smiled back, "Good to know, Tori." A small ringing was then heard in the room and he excused himself from the room, leaving the others alone.

"So Tori, welcome to the team." Tyson grinned, placing his hand out in front of him and shaking hers.

Tori laughed slightly, her bright brown eyes shining, "Thanks." She nodded.

All five teenagers walked out of the tall building, all walking and chatting together to the point when Tori started to head in a different direction, "Hey, where are you going?" Max asked.

"I need to go home, got to go to work in about an hour." Was Tori's reply.

"You work? At your age?" Ray asked, a little shocked.

"Yeah well, I like to be kept busy." Tori replied, "You guys could come over in the mean time," she said, "If you like." She quickly added.

They all agreed and followed her, all except for one. "Where are you going, Kai?" Ray asked the captain.

"I'll see you all later." Came the cold reply as he continued to walk away.

"Is he always like that?" Tori asked, looking after him.

"Pretty much." Tyson replied, sounding disappointed.

"Why is that though?" Tori asked, confusedly.

"He had a horrible childhood." Ray spoke, "We don't know too much since every time we question him about it he just gets really angry at us and storms off."

"So we've learnt not to ask anymore." Tyson said, as they continued to follow the Japanese girl.

"But we still wish he'd come to us about it." Max added, crystal blue eyes cast on the ground as he spoke.

"That's sad. He shouldn't have been made to suffer." Tori whispered, more to herself than the others. They walked up the stairs to her apartment where Tori unlocked the door and they all walked in, "Home sweet home." She laughed at the pile of messy suite cases by the door.

"Nice place." Tyson complimented, looking around.

"Well it's a shoebox compared to what I'm used to but with three bedrooms and all I really need, I cant really complain."

"So you don't live with your parents?" Max asked, watching from near the door as she walked into her bedroom.

"Well I've been travelling with my parents ever since I was a kid and just got back to Japan after two years in America. Sadly, there aren't here to enjoy it together since they had to go to some place in Africa." Tori explained from her room, sounding a little upset as she thought about her parents. After a few minutes she walked out of her bedroom, her lovely auburn hair falling just barely over her shoulders, she wore a tight pair of jeans and a white and gold long sleeved top but she shoulders were cut, leaving them bare. "Can I get you guys anything?" she asked.

"No thanks." They all denied, politely.

"Ok." She whispered, looking around the rooms as if looking for someone.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for Kei." Tori answer, entering her small kitchen.

"Who's Kei?" Tyson asked.

He soon got his answer though when Tori opened a cupboard and a tiny white puppy ran out. She smiled, scooping the young animal up into her arms, "This is Kei." She said, stroking the puppy.

**---That Night---**

"I think Tori's pretty cool and she's nice too." Max said, sitting on the ground near the others.

"Yeah but now we just got to see how good she is at beyblading." Tyson said, lying back on the wooden floors with his arms behind his head.

"I don't think Mr Dickinson would have hired her to train us if he didn't think she were good enough." Ray commented wisely.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tyson thought aloud.

"But I have to agree, she is nice and kinda fun to be with and I think she will manage to teach us some stuff." Ray continued. He then turned to the stoic captain who sat by himself in a corner at the far end of the room, "What do you think, Kai?"

Kai stood up, arms now crossed solidely across his chest, "She's a girl and in charge of training but I'm surely not going to let her go easy on any of you." Came the monotonous opinion. He then left the room, leaving everyone to stare at where he exited, not too surprised by the reaction but still finding it startling.

**A/N: My first chapter of my new fic. Please tell me how this chapter was and if it was any good, please review!**


	2. What a nightmare!

**_Chapter Dedication:_** _My good friend, amazing writer and reviewer, Ray-Tiger-Cat. _

**Chapter 2**

Max slowly walked to Tyson's place, yawning tiredly half the way. It was still 7:00am but Kai had called him telling him he wanted to start some training before Tori arrived. He was almost tempted to find an excuse since he would have much rather have stayed in bed but knew that there'd be hell to pay, especially if Tori were as harsh as Kai when it came to training. Leaning against the wall, he yawned again, resting his head back. "You do realize you'll never get anywhere if you keep stopping, right?" a voice asked.

Max looked at the person opposite him, the owner of the voice being Tori who smiled cheerily despite how early it was. "Yeah I do." He replied, grinning. They both started walking a little more, "So Kai called you too?" he asked.

"Ha, no! Never gave him my number. I knew he'd call me and wake me up extra early, Mr Dickinson made me well aware of that." Tori laughed.

"But you're up early anyway." Max commented.

"Yeah but I like to wake up on my own time, not having some stranger call me and yell down the phone."

"Hehe I think I see your point."

"Well, I'll catch up with you later!" she then yelled, running down a different street.

"You're not training with us?" Max asked, confusedly.

"Sure but later, I'm letting Kai torture you first." Tori grinned, walking backwards so he could see the mischievous look on her face.

**--- At Training---**

It was almost 8am and Kai had trained them from the moment Max had arrived. Tori still hadn't showed up and the team tried to convince Kai to give them a break till Tori arrived and somehow, it had actually worked. They didn't know how but didn't dare dwell on it, enjoying the few minutes they had to relax and talk.

"I hope Tori isn't too hard on us, Kai's training is bad enough by itself." Max whispered.

"It can't be more torture than Kai's." Tyson muttered, more to himself than to the others around him.

"I heard that." Kai told him, eyes snapping open at the younger boy.

"Yeah so did I." Tori said in a scolding tone, "You really need to be more careful." She added.

Within minutes of Tori's orders, they all stood outside, a large beydish separating Tori and the rest of the team. "So who wants to battle first?" she asked, smiling as they all looked at each other. "Even better. We'll all battle." She said, deciding for them.

"Do we have a choice?" Tyson asked, pulling out his blade.

Tori thought about it for a second as she pulled out her dark green and pink beyblade and set up, "Not really, no." she answered.

"Fair enough I guess." Max said.

All five got ready to launch and on Tori's mark the battle began. She had instantly chosen to kick them out one at a time, first going after the youngest, the one who she thought was the weakest…Max. Denzelle slammed through Driger to get to Draciel, then slowly ramming him into the wall, up and out of the dish.

"Well I'm out." Max announced disappointedly.

Tori smirked going after Tyson next. He may have been the world champion but his head wasn't in the game as she soon caught sight of a glitch in his blade's movements. With one small power up and a little more concentration Denzelle sped towards the other blade and pushed it right out, knocking straight into Driger again, slowing him down as he wavered slightly.

"Is it just me or are we getting our asses kicked?" Tyson asked, picking up his blade from the grass.

"It's just you!" Ray and Kai yelled in unison.

"Heh, just checking." Tyson said sheepishly, sitting down on the porch and watching from there.

Ray nodded to Kai, both understanding what to do next. The remaining two blades pushed Tori's up against the wall of the dish but with a larger force she was able to push them away. They both came up either side of her, in hopes of pressuring her into a stop, "That's low!" Tori said, looking up at the two males. "Hurry up and finish this." She whispered, none of the others hearing her quiet orders.

Denzelle's clear brown eyes shot open at the command, shaking off the pure white snow off her coat of fur, the tiger lunging forward. She soon grew into a tall young woman with deadly pale skin that matched with that of the clean snow around her. Her thin tight silk dress flowing at the ends in the breeze as the white light shone brighter. The white light shone and out of the bladers' views metal clashed with metal and a blade came flying out, speeding past Ray and landing on the porch.

Kai still heard his blade and knew he wasn't out just yet. He quickly tried to attack her once he caught sight of green and pink beneath the light. Tori wasn't as prepared this time, panicking slightly as she ordered Denzelle to drain the light and attack. After endlessly trying to end the battle and after many minutes of knocking each other around the dish Tori put a lot of energy into trying to end the battle herself.

Fire and Ice collided again and Denzelle pushed Dranzer to the edge again. Dranzer swerved away in time and the two switched places. Tori breathed exhaustedly as the two blades parted. Both blades rested on either end of the dish as the bladers breathed heavily. Despite their appearances both had plans to take the other by surprise…which only failed miserably for both. The blades flew just past each other and Dranzer nipped at Tori's fringe as the blade flew by her and Denzelle ripped through Kai's sleeve but barely breaking the skin, both blades landing onto the grass.

Tori fell back onto the grass, staring up into the sky. She pouted slightly at the sight of her cut fringe. Sitting up, she picked up Kai's blade which had fallen beside her, dropping it to the floor hurriedly when she felt how hot it was. Kai dropped her icy blade into her lap and picking up his own, Tori watching how he wasn't affected by its heat. He then slowly walked away, silently cursing the tie.

"Great battle, Kai." Tori called after him.

Ignoring her Kai walked inside and Tori just kept staring after him, her hands gripping her blade tightly, "What's up, Tori?" Tyson asked, kneeling down beside her.

"He really makes me wonder if he's actually human." Tori replied quietly.

"Well we've seen him bleed before so you don't need to worry bout him being a robot." Max joked, trying to cheer the girl up.

"Yeah, no worries there." Tori smiled, pushing herself up. "Ah now, here comes the enjoyable part for me." She smirked evilly. "I want you all to run from here to the beach, the number of times depends on how you did during the battle." She explained.

"Aww but that's not fair." Tyson complained.

"Who said life was fair?" Tori asked.

"Whoever did must have had one hell of a life." Tyson muttered to himself.

"Right so Max 10 times, Tyson 10, Ray 6 and…" she paused, looking back at the door. "And I'll go get Kai, soon enough." She finished.

"Hey I did better than Max so why do we have the same runs?" Tyson asked quickly.

"Cause you said my training can't be worse than Kai's and I'm working my way up to that." Tori grinned, turning to the door. "Now go!" she ordered, walking inside.

Nodding the three did so but not without complaining to each other before, well, Max and Tyson complained, Ray was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Tori turned before entering, watching them leave, sighing she walked inside, looking everywhere for the stoic captain, finding him in the kitchen. She walked up next to him but he still ignored her, not even glancing at her. "Sorry bout that." She whispered, tracing her index finger over the ripped fibres of his jacket. Kai still ignored her, not saying a word as he poured out a cold glass of water. "Just out of random curiosity…are you going to ignore me all day?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She still didn't get a reply after he drank his water and he just walked back outside without a word, "Yeah, that's what I thought." She said, following him out. "Anyway, if you're not going to answer me than at least listen to my orders. The others have to run laps from here to the beach, numerous times, you only have to twice but wait down by the beach and make sure they're stay out of trouble till I get there."

Kai heaved a sigh and left at the sound of the orders. He didn't even bother to run there, just walking calmly down the streets to the destination. The whole walk wasn't peaceful as all he could do was replay the previous battle in his mind, analyzing it for any mistakes. There must have been one; he tied so he thought he must have done something wrong.

After many hours of continuous training the team sat on a wall near the beach. Tori had said it was enough for the day and Kai had left, claiming he had something to do. Everyone had just brushed it off but it had always troubled Tori and she had muttered, "I'll never understand him."

Thankfully no one had heard her and the night went on with them talking on the beach before Tori ordered them to go home. She had left too, going back to her apartment to get some sleep. She thought the day had gone quite well but knew she had to be harder on the team, if they were going to learn anything. They had learnt though, that she was no push over which was certainly a start. She had so much she still had to do and it wasn't going to be easy. In the end, she did have Mr Dickinson to thank for the headache she got, and the appetite she lost while watching Tyson eat but that was besides the point. Mr Dickinson had given her strict orders, orders she was ready to try carry out, she just hoped that the team didn't start to question her leadership.

**A/N: So that's chapter 2. I hope it was good, hopefully better than chapter 1. Please leave me a review and I'll try to have next chapter up as soon as possible.**

**Bye for now!**


	3. A Disaster or a friendship?

**_Chapter Dedication: _**_A true friend, one of the most understanding people I've ever met and one of the best yaoi writers on the site, fallen phoenix of darkness. _

**Chapter 3 **

Next day, Kai started off training and there was soon hell to pay the second it started. Tori had been late, well, late by about five hours. She hadn't showed up in the morning and the team got worried while Kai grew angry. Then again, angry was a tad of an understatement but whatever you want to call it, it wasn't pretty.

Later in the day at about 1pm they started a beybattle amongst themselves and a figure snuck in through the entrance when a dark blue blade flew right at her. She pouted and crouched down, her hands shielding her head, "So much for keeping a low profile." She whispered to herself.

"You're late." Kai said angrily, calling his blade back to him.

"Nothing gets past you, Kai." Tori said, standing up straight.

"So why are you late?" Kai asked, getting right in front of her, the others walking up behind him hurriedly.

"Hey, maybe she had something to do, Kai." Tyson said, standing up for her.

"It's fine, Tyson." Tori said, holding up a silencing hand. "But hard to believe, he _is_ right Kai. My mom and dad signed me up for a school round here and they called me to check it out, it was short notice and I didn't have time to call." She explained.

"So you'll be skipping more training sessions?" Kai asked.

"I'm sure you'd love to get rid of me Kai but no I'm not, I'll just be late by about an hour or two." Tori replied, "Now, I don't know if you've realized but this interrogation is taking up more training time." She pointed out to him wisely.

"Wha--? We've been training all day; you're still going to train us?" Tyson asked, disbelievingly.

"Of course." Tori replied, "Training won't kill you." She added, setting her backpack onto the porch, Kei's little head peeping out.

"Who says it won't?" Max asked.

"I'm saying, now stop being so lazy." Tori said, walking past him.

"We're not." Tyson muttered.

"I beg to differ." Tori said aloud.

"Same." Kai added.

"Yeah so go run laps, here to the beach twice and back." Tori ordered. She turned to Kai, eyes widening slightly in fake surprise, "Wow, we agreed on something? What a miracle." She said.

"Yeah, huge." Kai muttered to himself, Tori not hearing him.

"Whatever grumpy. Have they ever learnt martial arts?" Tori asked him, sitting on the porch, stroking Kei kindly.

"Tyson has with his grandfather, not too sure about the others though." Kai replied.

"And you?"

"Yeah, I have."

"Good, one less person to worry about during training." Tori whispered, "Think you can spar with me as an example?" she asked.

"You're going to try to teach _them_ martial arts?" Kai questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well it'll certainly do them some good." Tori replied honestly.

"Well good luck with it." Kai smirked.

"You don't think I can do it, right?" Tori asked, smirking too as she stood up.

"With them? No." Kai answered himself simply, walking out of sight from the Dojo.

_'Denzelle…may I please strangle him?' _Tori asked her bit beast politely, strangely, in the calmest of voices.

_'Well I really suggest that you don't.' _Denzelle laughed.

_'Have I ever mentioned how annoying he can be?' _

_'Yes Mistress, twice yesterday evening.' _

_'I can't mention it enough.' _Tori groaned, picking up Kei.

_'Just ignore him and continue with your job.' _Denzelle advised.

_'How can I? He obviously doesn't like the way I run his team and the fact that he doesn't have another choice but to deal with me probably annoys him all the more.' _

_'Well just don't let him get to you then.' _

_'It's going to take every shred of power in my being for that.' _Tori said, sighing.

_'Yes and you'll lose your lovely life in the process.' _Denzelle said sarcastically.

**---That Evening--- **

Four teenagers sat in the Dojo, all except Kai of course, who was off somewhere. Tori had finally decided that they'd had enough for the day soon after an argument with Kai had broken out and she lost all will to continue for the day and easily gave in to them when they begged for them to stop. Seeing as Kai was gone she regretfully explained her concerns about Kai and all the arguments she was getting into with him.

"We've all had arguments with Kai, he'll forget about it sooner or later so don't worry." Tyson said, grabbing another sandwich.

"Maybe but I was out of line." Tori said, lying back on the ground.

"Maybe so but he'll forget about it and I'm sure if you apologize he'll forgive you." Max started, taking her hand and trying to pull her into a seated position.

"I hope so." Tori whispered, sitting up with Max's help. Within seconds of that being said started to rage outside making Tori groan, fall back again and turn on her stomach. "What a day." Came her muffled comment.

"It could be worse." Ray told her.

"How?" Tori asked quietly.

"Can't think of anything at the moment." Ray replied quietly.

"That's helpful!" Tori said sarcastically.

Tori slowly turned over, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, "What do you guys do when you're bored and it's raining outside?" she then asked.

"At this time…we'd still be outside training. Kai doesn't care whether it's raining or not, he just makes us train anyway." Tyson answered.

"Yeah, I'll bet he's real tough on you." Tori laughed slightly.

"Yeah, very. There are days I think he enjoys torturing us." Tyson said, thinking back on some tough training days.

"Maybe he does," Tori started, smirking, "I mean, who doesn't enjoy torturing poor defenceless creatures?" she asked, jokingly.

"That's not fair though." Max pouted.

"Apparently, life isn't fair to some people." Ray said wisely, watching as the others nodded.

"Where do you think Kai went to?" Tori asked quietly.

"Not sure."

Tori shook her head, "I've had it, I'm going to go look for him." She informed them quickly, getting off the wooden floors. Before they could protest she walked out of the Dojo, stopping when she caught sight of Kai in the dark as he walked inside and up to his room.

Tori walked back to the others, asking Tyson for some towels. He gave her some but was still confused as to why she needed them but didn't get the chance to ask as she left to talk to Kai.

She knocked on his door and Kai opened it ajar, "Can I come in?" she asked, quietly and politely. Kai sighed but opened the door more and let her walk inside. He turned to her, the look on his face questioning her as to why she was there. She answered his question when she bit her lip shyly and passed him the towels, "Sorry bout earlier; I was really out of line with what I said." She apologized.

Kai took the towels, dropping two onto his bed and used the other to try drying himself off. He stared out the window while he wiped off the water from his dripping arms and neck, not answering Tori at all.

"An answer would be nice." Tori said from by the door.

"It's fine and…you didn't have to do this." Kai answered her, refusing to look at her at the time but Tori accepted it anyway.

"I felt I needed to." Tori told him, smiling. "Would you like me to get you anything?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine." Kai answered, still not looking at her.

"Ok well I'm going home, then probably to work so I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Tori informed, leaving she paused on her way out the door to see if he'd say something, he didn't and she quickly left.

**---A Few Hours Later--- **

Tori's shift at the café was finally coming to an end and she couldn't be happier about it. She was exhausted after the long day of school, training the others, yelling, getting yelled _at_; it was all just tiring for her. She then saw Kai walk in, confused as to why he was out again, by himself none the less. She walked over towards the table he had just sat down at, "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I was hoping for peace and quiet but seeing as you're here maybe I should leave." Kai answered.

"No need to, my shift's just ended and I'm leaving." Tori replied, "I'll get someone to serve you." She added, walking behind the counter, she picked up her backpack and was about to leave when she saw her co-worker serving Kai coffee, "Hey Mel," She called before walking out; "It's on me." She said, finally leaving.

**---Next Morning--- **

Tori walked quietly to Tyson's, eyes firmly cast on the ground beneath her as she walked. She looked up once she arrived, smiling when she saw Kai sitting on the porch. She walked over, sitting next to him, "Hey, where are the others?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't answer her if she just said a simple 'hey.'

"Ray is making breakfast and Max is trying to wake Tyson." Kai replied simply.

"Ah, you'd think it would take more than one person to do that though." Tori laughed.

"It does but I'm not in the mood to help."

"Something wrong?" Tori asked, some worry evident in her eyes.

Kai grimaced slightly as another memory resurfaced, he shuddered but then answered her simply, "No." he then stood up and walked away.

Tori sat there uncertainly for a moment, not sure whether she should go after him or if she should give him some space. She chose her second option and tried to shrug it all off for the moment and walked inside. She instantly picked up the smell of food and followed it to the kitchen, seeing the plates of food lined over the table and counters. Tori stood by the door, eyes widened to the size of plates, "Who are you feeding, the army?" she asked Ray.

"Close enough; Tyson." Ray replied, laughing as he sat at table.

"I think I should wait outside, just to stay alive." Tori joked, walking back out. She sat down on the damp grass, lying back and staring into the pale blue sky, feeling the sun's warmth wash over her.

After patiently waiting about an hour for everyone to have breakfast, Tori explained to them that she wanted to teach them some self-defence. When asked why they'd need it she brought up their record on getting kidnapped and so on, claiming it was about time they learnt how to defend themselves properly.

She called Kai out to spar with her and he opened his eyes, seeing everyone staring at him he heaved a sigh and stepped towards her while the others stepped away to stay out of the fight. In minutes their fight started and kicks and punches where launched at each other. Neither of them were winning nor losing. Kai did seem somewhat distracted though, no one had really noticed it but at times he was in fact slowing down and his vision tended to fog up.

Tori was just about to punch him but strangely Kai blanked for a second. She was about to step away from him since he didn't seem too well but something took him over, he punched her in the jaw which knocked her straight to the ground in one movement.

Kai stared down at his fists in shock as the others ran to the fallen Tori. "What the hell are you doing, Kai?" Tyson asked, hurriedly and angrily.

Kai stood there, speechless as to what had happened. Tori stood up, eyes rising off the ground to look at Kai as she massaged her cheek and jaw. "Guys, its fine, I'm sure it was just an accident." She told them. She took in all their expressions, all were concerned for her while Tyson looked a little angry at Kai while Kai just looked shocked. "I promise you, I'm fine." She assured. "In the mean time go battle each other while my jaw stops throbbing." She told them, walking past them and sitting on the porch, her blade sitting beside her.

Kai was about to walk right past her but he heard her whisper a quiet 'sit.' He was planning on ignoring her, pretending he didn't hear what she said, already knowing what she was going to talk to him about. His pause made she knew he had heard her so there was no sense trying to ignore her and no sense running. He sat beside her, his hand behind him for support as he pretended that his wrist didn't hurt.

"What happened over there?" She asked quietly, watching as the beybattle unfolded in front of her.

"Just got dizzy that's all." He lied, not looking at her.

"That's all it was?" Tori asked.

"Yeah."

After that both had conversations in their own heads, not looking at each other, nor saying anything else. _'Master, maybe you should go for a walk, clear your head.' _Dranzer suggested.

_'The others will ask more questions and so will Tori.' _Kai replied, his mind's voice sounding exhausted.

_'It never stopped you before.' _Dranzer stated.

Kai tried to ignore the voice of the intruding bit beast, staring sadly at the exit.

_'What do you think happened to him, Denzelle?' _Tori asked worriedly.

_'Not really sure, Mistress.' _Came the unsure reply. _'Mistress, maybe you should suggest that Kai leave, maybe it'll make him feel better.' _ She suggested.

_'Oh? What good will that do?'_ Tori asked confusedly.

_'I just think that it may help him.' _Denzelle replied hesitantly.

_'Well alright, if you think it'll help.' _Tori said, glancing over at Kai.

_'Thank you, Mistress.' _Denzelle thanked quietly before leaving Tori's mind.

Tori thought about how she would confront him, thinking for only a minute before placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Kai looked at her and watched her smile at him, "You need to go?" she asked quietly.

"No, why would I?" Kai asked coldly.

"To clear your head."

"I'm fine."

Tori leaned in from behind him, keeping her eyes straight forward on the dish where the battle continued. "Just go, I'll cover for you." She whispered, nodding slightly.

Kai nodded back slowly, getting up he walked out and quickened his pace once he got further away. _'How'd she know I needed to leave? And why's she covering for me?' _he asked himself rather urgently.

_'Maybe she's trying to be a friend?' _

_'Maybe, but why me, we just argue all the time.' _

_'But she always does something good in the end.' _Dranzer noted, _'Personally, I think she's quite nice and certainly good at blading.' _

_'She isn't strict enough on the others though.' _Kai said bitterly.

_'Ah, that may be true but she does teach them some necessary techniques without needing to be harsh to them during their training.' _

_'She needs to be tougher on them or they'll never learn.' _

_'Your training sessions were always hard and no one was ever easy on you, I don't blame you for training them the way you do.' _

_'Just leave me alone!' _Kai yelled coldly.

Dranzer held back a sigh and quickly left Kai alone with his own thoughts. Kai soon regretted treating Dranzer like that as he quickly felt a certain emptiness and seemed much colder than he ever wished to be. He continued making his way to the park, he sat alone on the grass and tried to clear his mind as best he could of everything and everyone.

**---A Few Hours Later--- **

Kai's crimson eyes shot open, sitting up abruptly on the grass, "How long was I out?" he whispered to himself.

_'A couple of hours.' _Dranzer replied simply.

_'Why didn't you wake me?' _

_'You've been avoiding your sleep, you needed to rest.' _

_'You should have woken me up!'_ Kai lashed out angrily, gritting his teeth.

_'I couldn't, it was for your own safety. I'm sorry.' _Dranzer said regretfully, whispering the sorry as though it were a forbidden word.

_'Just forget it! It's getting late, another storm is coming and I need to get back.' _Kai said, pushing himself up and walking back towards the Dojo.

_'Yes, they may be worried.' _

"I doubt it." Kai muttered.

**A/N: I so hope that was a good chapter. I dont think I had many spelling mistakes, if I did then please point them out to me and I'll try to fix them. Please review!**


	4. Will it last?

**Chapter 4**

Kai got back soon after, seeing that only Tori was sitting outside. "Hey, welcome back." She greeted, giving him one of her usual kind smiles as she stood up.

Kai ignored her smile and greeting and was just quick to ask, "Where are the others?"

"Take a guess." Tori said, sitting back down.

"Taking a break and eating?" Kai tried.

"Bingo!" Tori said quickly. "So are you feeling better?" she asked carefully.

"Nothing was wrong in the first place."

"You were gone a really long time though." Tori commented.

"So?"

"So you shouldn't have gone so far away, and with a history of getting kidnapped that this team has it isn't that safe for you. The others weren't worried 'cause I gave them a valid lie but I knew you weren't too well and started to worry when you took so long." Tori explained, her usual gentle voice sounding a little frustrated as she spoke.

"You don't need to worry about me." Kai told her monotonously. Getting tired of the constant arguing he walked past her and went inside.

Tori made a sudden gesture, one that was as though she was trying to strangle him. _'It's very obvious that you would like to strangle him Mistress but please don't.' _Denzelle laughed.

'_You're asking for the impossible again.'_ Tori informed the tiger.

'_Perhaps but you must come to realize that it is his character and you must learn to deal with it.' _

'_Very much so but a reasonable answer once in a while would make my job a lot easier.' _

'_Well we both know he has suffered in his past.'_

'_So, what's that got to do with it now?' _Tori asked, almost stupidly. '_It may affect him but it's in the past now.' _

Denzelle laughed lightly before asking, _'You've never been into psychology, have you?' _

'_You've known me for the last twelve years. I think you can answer that by yourself.' _

'_Indeed, I can.' _Denzelle agreed,_ 'Fact of the matter is that he is trying to protect himself, shielding himself from the world, to hide behind a strong façade to keep him safe from all the bad things life has thrown at him and the things that people may do to him.' _

'_But by doing that he's missing out on so many great things.' _

Denzelle sighed, brown eyes saddening slightly at the thought, _'Yes and it probably makes him feel worse but he's not about to drop his defences for the few good things.'_

"Oh, I think…I get it." Tori thought, not realizing she had said that just above a whisper, her eyes saddening too when she finally understood.

"Get what?" Kai asked, walking back outside.

"Ah, its nothing." Tori replied, shaking her head.

Kai said nothing, just sitting on the other end of the porch quietly as he leaned back against a wooden column. Tori drew in her legs to her chest, putting her arms on her knees and resting her head there, yawning exhaustedly, "You're tired." Kai pointed out.

"As are you." Tori retorted, resting her chin on her arm so that she could look at him.

"No, I'm not."

"Well to be honest you look exhausted." Tori stated, honestly.

"Well I'm not."

"Whatever you say." Tori whispered, lying back on her side, yawning again, "Yeah well I am so wake me up when the others decide they've had a good enough break and Tyson stops eating." She said, curling up and shutting her eyes.

Kai sat there, watching as the young girl dozed off and a serene look graced her features. He sat back, closing his own eyes for a few minutes, not in an attempt to sleep but just to relax.

Hours later Tori began to stir. Her brown eyes fluttering open she turned over onto her back, staring at the ceiling for a second before noticing the thin blanket over her thin body. She sat up as she looked around, her eyes settling on the team having a friendly beybattle. She looked around from her position, searching aimlessly for the team captain, who wasn't battling with the rest of the team.

He had just walked out of the Dojo and she was quick to ask with a stern voice, "Hadn't I asked you to wake me when they were done?"

Kai hurriedly looked down at the sudden sound of the cold voice that had interrupted his current thoughts, "Blame the others, they're the ones who claimed you had a tough day and didn't let me."

"And why did that stop you?" Tori asked, getting off the ground, pulling the blanket up with her. He still didn't answer her; he just walked past her and sat on the porch where he had before. Tori just rolled her eyes and walked over to the others to watch the beybattle.

**---Next Day---**

Tori sighed, walking into the bathroom, being sure to lock the door. Kai was being difficult and it was starting to take everything in her to bear with him for any longer. She was just trying so hard to understand him but it was already getting too hard and she was almost ready to give in.

An idea dawned to her suddenly and she smiled happily. She ran her hands under the running cold water before rinsing her face as she felt she was burning up. She dried off her hands and face, leaving the bathroom she went straight back outside where the others waited for her.

She looked up at them, watching as they stared at her worriedly. "What?" she asked really confusedly.

"Are you alright?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tori answered, confusion still written on her face. "But I need to go out now so training is in Kai's hands for the rest of the day." She said, looking at him as he nodded. Before they could say anything she picked up her backpack and left.

**---A Few Hours Later---**

Mr Dickinson walked into his office Tori turning in his chair in time to see him walk in. "Oh, Hey Mr Dickinson. Your secretary told me I could come in; she gave me the files I needed too." She said, holding up the files as she got out of his chair and stood in front of him.

"Yes. Did you find what you needed?" Mr Dickinson asked, walking past her and sitting in his chair.

"Yeah, everything I needed, thanks." Tori replied, smiling at the older man.

"Well no problem. So apart from the problems with Kai, how are things with the team going?" Mr Dickinson asked.

"Oh things are going great, they're really nice." Tori answered, sitting down on the chair opposite the desk.

"Quite a lively bunch aren't they?" Mr Dickinson smiled, seeing Tori happy with the new team.

"Yeah they are but things are fine with them, they actually listen to me when I give orders." Tori replied, giggling. "Oh, would you mind if I made copies of these?" she asked suddenly, holding up the files in her hand.

"Of course. I'll have someone copy them and send them to your apartment." Mr Dickinson said, nodding.

"Thanks Mr Dickinson, your help is greatly appreciated." Tori said, standing up and placing the files on his desk. "Well I'd better be going, I hope to go check on the team later." She placed her hand out in front of him for a hand shake, smiling kindly. He took her hand, shook it and she walked out of the office.

Tori walked happily along the cold streets, the gentle wind pushing back her auburn hair. Smiling she ran up the stairs to her apartment, things were going to get better, she guaranteed herself that. She entered the small apartment, lying down on the sofa. She took a deep breath and picked up the cordless phone off the table and called Tyson's place. Kai was the one that answered the phone, his tone of voice sounding the way it always did, monotonous. "Hey, how are things going over there?" Tori asked.

"You don't need to check up on us." Kai told her roughly.

"I admire you Kai and I have complete faith in your skills so if I could I really would just leave you to it but unfortunately it's my job to check in on things." Tori explained, a very faint smile never leaving her face.

"Well we're doing fine. Anything else?" Kai asked, and by the sound of things, he seemed very eager to get rid of the girl.

"Yeah. How are you?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because it gets annoying since I've already told you that I'm fine." Kai answered through gritted teeth.

"Wow so sue me for checking up on a team mate." Tori stated, rolling her eyes. "Anyway I have to go and I'll leave you to the team." She concluded, hanging up.

Tori quietly got off the sofa, pausing when the room began spinning and her vision was fading. She grabbed the armrest and held herself up, blinking rapidly to clear her eyesight. It cleared up just fine in a matter of seconds and she made her way to her small kitchen. She looked around for something she could make for dinner, slamming the freezer shut when she realized she ran out of food. Within seconds she was back out of the apartment, walking to the nearby grocer to buy something to eat. On her way back to the apartment she carried 3 bags of groceries when her vision faded again but this time the weight on her arms pulled her down and she instantly collapsed in the middle of the street.

People crowded around the fallen girl but only one dared walk straight up to her and kneel next to her. Ray turned her over, seeing her flushed cheeks and feeling her heated forehead.

**---Hours Later---**

Ray watched the sleeping girl from a chair by her bed. He had just gotten off the phone with the others, informing them of what had happened and got Kai to let them off training to come and see her. Tori still hadn't woken up yet and she just lay quietly under her silk white sheets. She had a cold cloth on her forehead, wetting the ends of her auburn fringe that hang over it.

Ray stood up to walk to the kitchen but heard a quiet groan from behind him as he left. He turned to Tori whose eyes had just fluttered open, allowing her to stare strangely at the ceiling. "Why am I here?" she whispered to herself.

"You fainted in the street and I got you here." Ray replied quietly, walking back to her and sitting in the chair next to her again.

"Oh." Tori whispered.

"You're fever is going down but stay in here a little longer ok? The others should be here soon." Ray told her.

"Why are they coming?" Tori asked, finally turning her head to look at him.

Ray looked at her disbelievingly, "Well they were worried when I told them so they want to check on you." He replied.

"Why should they worry though?"

"You're our trainer now and our friend so what kind of friends would we be if we didn't check up on you?"

"Alright, I get it." Tori said, laughing lightly as she turned back to staring at the ceiling.

"Ah and by the way, this came for you." Ray said, handing her a brown package.

Tori looked confusedly at the brown covering, wondering what it was. She took it from him and opened it, pulling the batch of papers up a bit. Her eyes widened, finally remembering what they were she put them back in and shoved the package under her bed. Telling Ray it was just some uninteresting papers that her parents had wanted her to read.

As the team had promised they did come to visit and they all enjoyed each others company. Most of them at least. Kai sat in a corner by himself, just overhearing all that was going on. Tori constantly glanced at him constantly, she couldn't help but worry about him. The information she had found only made her worry more about him but she had to learn to keep it under control.

Half way through a conversation exhaustion overtook her completely and she fell asleep. After staying just a few more minutes the others left to go back to the Dojo.

**---Next Morning---**

Tori opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling as she did every time she woke up. Her hand slid from under the covers, picking up the cool damp cloth from her forehead before staring at it. She smiled, placing it on her bedside table she sat up in her bed. She forced herself off the soft mattress and out from under her warm blankets, she picked up some clothes from her wardrobe and ran into the bathroom.

She undressed and stepped into the shower, running the water over her slender frame. She ran her fingers through her soaking hair as she thought about the team. _'Mistress…' _the voice of her faithful bitbeast interrupted her thoughts after several minutes and she shook her head of all thoughts.

'_Yes, Denzelle?'_ Toir signalled the bit beast to talk.

'_You're going to be late for school if you keep going through your hair like that for any longer.' _She informed kindly.

Tori's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat for a second, '"Oh no I completely forgot about school!" she exclaimed.

'_Well you better get moving then.' _Denzelle prodded.

Tori nodded, more to herself than to the tiger. She got out of the shower, being careful not to slip on her way out she wrapped a towel around herself and got back out into her bedroom looking for her seifuku. ('Seifuku' is a Japanese school uniform)

She quickly changed, picked up her black case and ran out the apartment door. She looked down at her class schedule, History then Maths. _'Something tells me this is going to be a long day.' _She thought, running to her first class.

**---Later---**

Tori walked exhaustedly to the Dojo, the second she entered she sat on the porch. All the others crowded around her when she sat down, "What are you doing here?" Tyson asked.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked, looking up at them.

"We left a message on your phone telling you that it was best you stay home to rest." Kai answered for them.

"Oh well I had school this morning and I came here straight after." Tori said.

"Are you sure you're alright though?" Ray asked, moving his hand forward to touch her forehead again.

Tori grabbed his hand before he could touch her, her grip softened on contact with his skin and placed his hand back down by his side. "I assure you all that I'm fine now." She said, standing up, eyes cast on the ground.

"You trying to convince us or yourself?" Kai asked coldly.

"I told you that I'm fine now so do me a favour, don't treat me like I'm disabled or something of the sort." Tori almost lashed out of him, the voice of her scolding bit-beast the only thing keeping her from full out yelling at any of them, particularly Kai. "Continue training yourself for a while, I'll just watch, maybe then you'll all shut up." She said, sitting back down and watching as the others obeyed and continued with their training.

Tori kept a close eye on training and to be quite honest, most of the team was starting to be a little afraid of Tori. They knew she wasn't really mad at them and that she was just a little uptight but that didn't change the fact that they kept quiet and didn't dare question her on anything that she did or that went on during training.

That evening Tori allowed the team to go out for ice-cream, leaving her alone at the Dojo with Kai. She got off the porch, walking inside and to the bathroom. Kai walked in behind her, wondering what was wrong and what she was going to do, "Leave me alone, Kai." She ordered, walking into the bathroom and locking the door.

Kai sat outside on the porch, waiting for the girl to come back out. "You're acting really weird today." He informed her, when he heard her walk up behind him.

"Thanks for rubbing it in." Tori said, sitting on the other end of the porch. "You and I really need to stop arguing." She stated quietly, "The others are starting to worry about it." She added.

"Yeah I noticed." Kai informed, "Which sucks cause that means that you and I have to pretend we are actually alright with each other."

Tori shrugged, "It makes no difference to me. I think you're a great person and I've always stayed nice to you, despite the way you've treated me. I think that if we really try that maybe we can actually get along."

"Maybe."

"There's no harm in trying." Tori said, "Though it may take a slice of your pride which in my opinion is a good thing, your pride needs a little slicing." She smiled.

Kai looked at her blankly, "I thought we were going to try get along."

"We were. That doesn't mean I can't make a joke once in a while."

"Fair enough I guess."

"How long do you think the others are going to take?" Tori asked, feeling the pain in her stomach rising again.

"At Tyson's rate, a very long time." Kai replied, staring at the ground again.

"Great." Tori whispered sarcastically, lying down.

"You should really go home."

"They'll ask questions and then they'd get worried and stuff."

"They won't if I lie." Kai said, shaking his head and the girl.

"You'd do that?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at the older boy.

"Consider it as my first act of being 'nice.' Now go!" Kai ordered.

"Thanks, Kai." Tori whispered to him. She got off the porch, picking up her back and leaving quickly.

'_That was…very nice of him.' _Denzelle said, uttering a word for the first time ever since she left.

Tori lay back on her bed, pulling blankets around her body for some added warmth. _'Yeah it was. I don't think his kindness will last though.' _

'_What makes you think that?' _

'_Not sure. Just a thought.' _

'_Maybe you're right but a little hope may go a long way.' _

"Yeah." Tori whispered before falling asleep.

**---With The Others---**

"Where's Tori, Kai?" Tyson asked, noticing the auburn-haired girl was missing.

"She had to go back home, she needed to do some homework." Kai replied from where he stood on the porch.

"That the truth?" Max asked, carefully.

"Think for a second. Why would I cover for her?" Kai asked them.

"I don't know, maybe you're finally getting along?" Ray tried.

"Even if we were I wouldn't resort to lying for her." Kai said.

The others just shrugged it off and believed Kai when he said that she had left to do homework. Kai continued being in charge of their training for a few more hours. When they started to get, what he had called, 'lazy' he left Tyson's place to go for a walk.

With no intentions of where he wanted to go Kai just let his mind wander while he walked through the streets. When he looked up and stopped walking he noticed he had walked to the beach. Sitting on a wall he stared out at the sea before pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialling Tori's home number. "Hey."

"Hey, Kai. I just called Tyson's, Ray said you weren't there so I was just about to call you."

"Why?" Kai asked, confusedly.

"I just wanted to see if you were ok and say…thanks for covering for me." Tori answered hesitantly.

"We're even."

"So…why are you out so late, I thought the others were just having dinner?" Tori asked, trying to strike a friendly conversation with the older teen.

"They are." Kai confirmed.

"And you aren't there having dinner…why?"

"Not hungry."

"Really? Cause I spoke to Ray earlier and even he said that you didn't have breakfast, nor lunch and not even a snack before dinner."

"Like I said, I'm not hungry."

"You're starving yourself, which usually happens when something is wrong."

"Do you really want me to hang up on you?" Kai asked her, frustrated that she was interfering again.

"Not really. But I haven't had dinner yet, if you like you could come over and have dinner with me." Tori suggested.

"No thanks. I should be getting back to the others anyway."

"Well alright. Call if you need anything. Bye for now." Tori said, Kai hanging up straight away instead of replying.

"I won't." Kai muttered. He got off the wall and turned to the way he came, exhaustedly making his way back to the Dojo before the others called to check up on him.

**A/N: So that's chapter four, for ya! What did you think? So Kai and Tori are going to try getting along for the sake of the team, its fine so far but will it last? What do you think? Please tell me all that you thought in a review. **


	5. Stress, Stress and more Stress

**Chapter 5**

'_Someone looks really happy.' _Denzelle stated as Tori walked to the Dojo after school.

'_Hey I can't help it.' _Tori thought to the Tiger, a light giggle following. _'Hopefully Kai and I will remain on good terms for the rest of the day and things will get better.' _

'_Yes, hopefully.' _Denzelle agreed.

'_I mean, why shouldn't we get along? I want to be considered a friend of his, to be someone he can actually talk to. He obviously can't do that with the rest of his team.' _

'_It won't be easy to get him to open up though. He isn't going to do it willingly.' _

'_That's why I'm here. It's not going to be easy but I'm working on it.'_ Tori said confidently. She smiled as a greeting to the whole time but it seemed like some things never changed as Kai didn't dare look at her. Even though he wasn't looking at her she finally understood what he was doing, he didn't want the others to notice just yet and that way he maintened his pride to a certain degree. When the others had turned away Tori smiled at the older teen who smirked lightly back at her.

Tori started off training by letting the team have their usual beybattle between them, which she always made them do at the beginning of her training sessions. As she sometimes did, Tori held Kai back from the battle, claiming she had to talk to him about some training plans. The team bought it and went on with their battle, leaving Tori and Kai alone. By that Kai knew what she was implying and he instantly went inside the moment he was left alone with her.

Tori sighed as she followed him inside, why'd he have to make things so hard for her? He was about to walk into his bedroom but she stood in front of him and blocked the path, "We said we were going to try be nice to each other." She reminded.

"Yeah but it doesn't mean that you can come up to me whenever you like and question me on things I don't want to talk about."

"So you admit there's something to talk about that you're avoiding."

"Stop putting words in my mouth." Kai growled angrily at her.

Tori smiled lightly, staring up at the older teen, "Relax. I'm only coming up to you to ask you if you ate anything, I couldn't let you beybattle or train this team if you hadn't eaten anything in days." She said.

"I did. Now leave!" Kai said, pushing past her and walking into his room.

Tori walked in after him into the bedroom before Kai rammed her up into a wall. His fingers tightened around her neck while Tori's nails clawed at them for him to loosen the hold on her neck. She wasn't scared, she knew Kai wouldn't try kill her, he only wanted to scare her but it didn't seem to work on her that much. Once his grip loosened slightly her hands fell on his forearms, she stared up at him slightly panicked. It wasn't Kai's terrifying glare that panicked her, it was just that it didn't even look like he could control what he was doing and under the gentle touch of her hands Kai's skin had heated up. Through all the panic her senses had shut down until she came in contact with the hard ground beneath her.

She looked up at him before pushing herself off the ground and staring at him right in the eyes. Kai just stood there, a blank expression on his face, his fists tightening by his sides as his chest heaved with every breath. Kai opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. Tori just shook her head and left the room to go back downstairs. She arrived on the landing of the stairs, looking into the mirror she stretched her neck, seeing the light bruises that where now appearing on her skin. She went outside and before the others had a chance to see her she pulled on her denim jacket and lifted the collar to hide the bruises. _'Guilt plagues him.' _Denzelle's whispered voice ran through Tori's thoughts.

'_Excuse me?' _Tori asked her loyal bit-beast, not hearing her completely.

'_He's guilty for what he has just done to you.' _Denzelle repeated more simply.

'_I don't think so.' _

'_I really feel that he does though.' _

'_We'll see.' _Tori thought, turning to Kai when he walked back out.

Tori's hand constantly moved to her neck, always finding that she had subconsciously moved it there while giving the team orders. Somehow she couldn't help but wonder about Kai and she was often caught staring at the ground in deep thought. What had surprised her the most though was that despite the fact that Kai was said to be feeling 'guilty' for what he had done he didn't let it show during training and was always focused on what was going on. The whole day Tori and Kai kept to themselves and ignored the other completely. Though the others began to notice the friction between the two Kai nor Tori made a move to solve the problems they were having, they just tried to ignore each other for as long as they could.

Regardless of Tori's feelings the ignoring went on for the following days, none of the others daring to confront either one of them about the quarrels of the two older teens.

**---Three Days Later---**

Tori entered the Dojo early in the morning, blinking surprisingly as she saw only one person in the large room. "Hey, where are the others?" Tori asked Kai quietly.

It was the first time in days that Tori spoke directly to him and he looked up at her after he heard her voice break through his thoughts. "They went out for breakfast." He replied coldly.

Tori nodded, sitting down by the entrance to patiently wait for the others to get back from breakfast. She watched her fingers as she led them true random steps, "How long are we going to keep this up?" she whispered, a bit more to herself than to Kai.

"I don't know." Kai replied.

"What…" Tori started quietly, looking up slowly, "happened a few days ago?" she asked.

"You annoyed the hell out of me and I attacked you." Kai answered, rolling his eyes.

"But it looked like you weren't yourself." Tori said cautiously, biting down lightly on her lower lip.

"You _really_ don't know what you're talking about."

Tori stood up, slowly walking over to the male teenager. Kai looked up at her and took in her features for the first time in days, seeing the worry evident in her brown eye as she watched him intently.

"What are you staring at?" Kai asked angrily.

Tori shook her head slightly, "Nothing." She replied quietly. She smiled kindly, getting off the ground and walking out of the room.

Kai brushed it off and sat back against the wall, closing his eyes and remaining that way when he heard Tori coming back. A small object fell in front of him, that he knew by the sound it made when it dropped, his eyes shot open to see an apple was in front of him. He looked up at Tori and watched her sit down opposite him and bite into her apple, he didn't say anything but just picked up the apple and began to eat.

"Amazing." Tori muttered when she was done.

"What?" Kai asked, looking up at her.

"We only get along when there's nothing to talk about!" Tori exclaimed, humour filling her voice as her sentence ended with a light laugh.

"You say it like it's a bad thing."

"Do you ever lighten up?" Tori asked.

"Well what do you think?" Kai asked her coldly.

"Apparently not." Tori answered her own question with a sigh. "So why do you think we fight all the time?" Tori asked.

"That's easy. It's because you interfere with my life." Kai answered simply, sitting back.

"I don't interfere, I just worry." Tori corrected, pouting slightly.

"You shouldn't."

"And why not?"

"Because everything is fine and I don't see what there is to worry about."

"Then why weren't you eating?" Tori asked, still not believing him.

Kai shrugged, "I just get full easily and the others don't know when or if I eat cause they wont be around." He answered.

"But why?"

"Cause I hate them trying to control how much I eat."

"Fair enough I guess." Tori said, a bit unsurely. "Did you ever check with a doctor about not being able to eat?" she asked.

"I don't need one."

"Well that's really up to you but if things get worse maybe you should consider going to one." Tori suggested caringly.

"I will, don't worry." Kai said with a light smirk.

"Ah but now you see, I know you're lying there." Tori pointed out, smiling.

"Was I that obvious?"

"Not really." Tori answered, _'I just did a little research.'_ She added in her mind.

"Well it doesn't matter. I don't need a doctor to tell me anything. They'll just tell me stuff I already know."

"That you're weird, insecure, annoying and cold?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"So much for trying to get along." Kai muttered, pushing himself off the ground and starting to walk out of the room.

Tori shot up and grabbed his hand to keep him from walking away, "Hey, I was only joking and besides, if it were the truth, I wouldn't dare tell you to your face." She lied, making things up as she went along.

"Now that's where you're lying because you _would_ dare to tell me to my face and it _is_ the truth." Kai told her, pulling away from her.

"Maybe it is, then again I don't know you too well." Tori said, leaning back against the wall.

"And you probably never will." Kai whispered, walking past her.

"People want to know a little more about you, just talk to them and let them know."

Kai ignored her again and walked out of the Dojo, leaving Tori stand there alone and watch the light peer in from outside. Sitting down she thought for a few minutes, wondering what it would take to ever get Kai to open up to someone. If not to her than to one of the others but someone, anyone.

**---6:30pm---**

At Tori's apartment Mr Dickinson sat talking to Tori and a young girl. Tori poured him some tea, while the other two listened, "I really have no idea what it's going to take to do this. I think I would literally have to tie him up and shove him into the deep end of a pool and still he wouldn't say anything."

"Well if you do that of course he can't." The younger girl said, "He'd be dead before you give him the chance to speak." She added with a laugh.

"Though I do believe Tori is right." Mr Dickinson stated sadly.

Tori sat back on the sofa next to the pale skinned girl, sighing, "How can I just push someone into talking?" she asked in a whisper.

"The human soul is fragile." The girl added, her eyes saddening as everyone else's.

"I still don't know how I was put up to this."

"It was a challenge, like all challenges you accepted." The older man reminded her.

Tori sighed, "Me and my love for challenges." She muttered. "So what should I do?"

"Keep pushing?" The girl tried, shrugging unknowingly.

"Or you could just try to get closer to him, then get him to open up." Mr Dickinson suggested.

"That has become impossible! I can't talk to him without something bad happening." Tori continued to rant.

"So try to push him."

"We don't know what he's capable of, he could hurt himself!" Tori objected.

"And the others will be there to stop it." The young pale girl said.

"No need to stress about this, Tori dear. You have time and you have other priorities besides him." Mr Dickinson comforted quietly.

Tori sighed, shaking her head and she stared at the coffee table where her beyblade spun elegantly. "This is tough." She muttered.

"Imagine how he feels being pressured by the likes of you." The girl laughed.

Tori growled, reached forward and rammed her hand down on the beyblade to stop it. In an instance a white light flashed and the girl disappeared from by Tori's side. "Denzelle can just be so annoying sometimes." She told Mr Dickinson as she calmed down and sat back.

"She's got your sense of humour." Mr Dickinson said jokingly.

"I was taught to show respect towards my elders and all but you're pushing it right now." Tori warned carefully.

"Yes I see that. Which means it's probably a good thing that I have to go, I'll leave you to your thoughts and we'll keep in touch." Mr Dickinson added, getting up and getting ready to leave.

"Yeah." Tori whispered, leaning against the arm of the sofa. She listened closely, waiting to hear the door close behind Mr Dickinson. She heard it and she relaxed on the sofa, closing her eyes to relax for a while.

Another light filled the room and Denzelle's human form appeared on the sofa beside her. She rested her head on Tori's stomach and wrapped her arms around her, "Don't get stressed out." She whispered to her Mistress.

"Must you always ask for the impossible?" Tori asked, stroking Denzelle's long silver hair.

"Mistress, please don't worry about the boy. He currently isn't worth the trouble, no sense getting stressed out about this." Denzelle whispered quietly. "Go to rest, Mistress." She ordered gently, moving off her Mistress.

Tori nodded slightly, getting off the sofa and slowly making her way towards her bedroom. Denzelle lay down on the sofa, resting her head on her arm as she thought of ways to help the situation but most of all, her Mistress.

**A/N: So how was that? Good, crap? Give me your opinion on it and I'll try update within the next few days. Sorry that this chapter was late but the USB was acting weird and deleted half this chapter for me and I needed to re-write it. Please review! **


	6. Persuasions Through Conversations

**Chapter 6**

Tori turned over exhaustedly in bed, staying on her side she blinked a couple of times and the white and black splodges in her vision faded and the room became clear to her. She looked at her alarm clock that sat flashing on her bedside table; it flashed 11:32am. She groaned painfully, rolling over onto her stomach as she realized how late she was for practice…and school!

She pulled the pillow over her head, probably silently wishing that she could suffocate herself in her own bedroom. She practically dragged herself out of bed a few minutes later, getting straight into the bathroom for a freezing cold shower that she hoped would wake her up. When she got back out of the bathroom she gathered her things and quickly made her way out of the apartment to go to the Dojo.

She walked inside, surprising everyone who ran to her, except Kai of course who just opened his eyes and watched the seen before him. "What are you doing here? Doesn't class finish at 1?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, I slept in though." Tori replied, blushing slightly.

"And you showed up early anyway? Strange…I would have expected you to stay home till school finished." Kai interrupted from the porch.

"I can even surprise you, Kai." Tori told him in a commanding tone.

"So are you going to train us this morning?" Max asked cheerily.

"Nah, I think I'm going to leave it to Kai for most of the day." Tori answered, her eyes moving from Max to Kai for a second. Tori smiled and walked past them to the porch and sitting down to watch for a while.

Kai got up and walked to the other others, eyes still cast on the ground with only one sentence going through his mind, _'What are you up to, Tori?' _

Tori sat there quietly all through training, a sly smirk never leaving her face. She watched intently for her only opening of the day to launch Denzelle's plan. The loyal tiger had given Tori the news of a plan early that morning while Tori was changing and since then, Tori had a spark of hope burning inside her.

She pulled her silky auburn hair back and sat up, beginning to get a little impatient. _'You really mustn't be so impatient, Mistress. This may not even be happening today.'_

'_And what if it doesn't happen at all?' _Tori asked.

'_It will.' _

'_But what if it doesn't?' _

The argument between the two continued till yelling was heard through her thoughts. Her eyes snapped open again, focusing on the huddled teenagers by the dish. Tori shot up and ran over to the team, eyes widening on the collapsed team captain. _'It did.' _Denzelle finally said with a victorious tone. "Take him inside." She ordered quietly.

"Shouldn't we wake him?" Tyson asked confusedly.

"No, leave him. Just take him inside." Tori repeated. The others nodded and carried Kai inside, Tori followed close behind them and watched as they set him gently on the ground as they couldn't take him upstairs. "So what happened?" she interrogated.

"We don't know. He just collapsed half way through the battle." Max answered her, sitting on the ground next to Kai.

"Well maybe he didn't get any sleep last night." Tori suggested, sitting down too and placing two gentle fingers on his wrist to check his pulse.

"I woke up twice last night and he was sleeping just fine then." Ray objected.

"Did he have breakfast?" Max asked Ray quickly.

"Yeah." Ray nodded.

"Maybe he's bleeding." Tori suggested quietly, "You check on that Ray, I don't think Kai would appreciate us being in here." She said getting up, "Come on, guys." She called while leaving.

The two male bladers followed her out, both glancing back at Kai before going outside. "I hope he's alright." Max said, sitting on the porch. A worried and scared look on his face as he thought back to what had happened.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Tori said, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort the youngest team mate.

"Yeah! It's Kai after all." Tyson said, also trying to comfort the younger teenager.

"Yeah but that's the thing, this is Kai and this never happens to him." Max added disappointedly.

"There's a first time for everything." Tyson said.

"Look, I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he just wasn't feeling too well and Dranzer's power was just too much for him. I'm sure it's nothing so all we can do is wait here and hope he feels better when he wakes up." The auburn-haired trainer said, her voice never changing its strong and supportive tone.

"I guess." Max agreed, his own tone not changing either.

'_Now's your chance.' _Tori called in her mind.

'_I'm already on it!' _

**---Half an Hour Later---**

Tori battled both Tyson and Max twice and one both times but she was cutting it close. She took her wins and sent the other two to battle each other without her. Ray walked outside and Tori ran up to him, "Nothing." Ray answered before she could even ask her question.

Tori's brown eyes widened, "How is that possible?" she asked urgently.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him." Ray countered, shrugging.

'_We're working on that.' _Tori thought. "Yeah, maybe I will." She nodded.

'_My Mistress is greatly concerned about your Master, do you know what has happened to him?' _Denzelle asked Dranzer politely.

'_He will be fine. Though I would advice your Mistress to wake him up as things may only get worse.' _Dranzer replied.

'_What will get worse?' _

'_His mood if you keep him like this.' _

'_It's a risk she is willing to make for his own safety.'_ Denzelle said sternly._ 'But honestly, what is wrong with him?' _she asked.

'_I have my loyalty towards my Master, what he tells me is none of anyone else's business but I assure you that it is nothing serious.' _

'_How are you willing to do this?' _

'_Excuse me?'_

'_You may have your loyalty to your Master but how is it you are willing to sit back and watch him suffer through bitter torment when you have the chance to help him.'_

'_More than anything else in the world, I'd like to help him but I'm not about to talk about him to some strangers without his permission.' _

'_Strangers? Maybe we haven't known each other for very long but I think my Mistress and I have earned the trust of the team.' _

'_Earning the trust of the team is not the same as earning the trust of my Master.' _

'_Apparently.' _Denzelle shot rather angrily, _'But in case he needs the help, you may want to convince him into talking to my Mistress. It's only for his own safety.'_ With that she quickly left to report back to her Mistress.

'_Well it goes to show Dranzer is loyal to Kai.' _Tori thought after hearing what happened.

'_Yes. Yet, sadly, it may be his downfall.' _

'_We can't predict anything just yet. Hopefully in time Dranzer will realize that Kai needs some help with whatever's going on with him and will decide to talk to us about it.' _

'_Maybe. But like his Master, he is loyal and stubborn; it won't be easy at all to get through this.' _

'_Well we learnt that a very long time ago but maybe there's hope for him yet.' _

'_Maybe you should go and check on him.' _Denzelle suggested.

'_Yeah, maybe I should.' _Tori said, thinking again, _'What about the others though?'_

'_Well what about them? Just tell them to run laps and go inside.' _Denzelle said, laughing a bit for the first time that day.

'_Yeah I guess I can do that, right?' _

'_Of course.' _

They both laughed at that till Tori decided to get off the porch and go inside to see Kai. She sat on the ground next to him; she picked up his blade that was on the ground between them. She stared at the bit-chip long and hard, gripping the cold metal in her hands, "How and why are you willing to do this to him?" she whispered. Hear a quiet groan she looked past the beyblade and towards its owner, smiling when Kai looked up at her. He didn't say a word but tried to sit up, wincing slightly he gave up and lay back down. "What do you want?" he asked her, his voice raspy and if it weren't for her sitting so close she wouldn't have been able to hear him.

"Just to check on you. How are you feeling?" Tori asked, brushing a strand of hair away from his eyes.

"Fine." Kai answered simply.

"Oh a friend told me that there's some weird code to that but I'll save it for when you're in a good mood."

"How long have I been out?" Kai asked, wincing at the throbbing pain in his skull.

"A little more than an hour." Tori replied. Kai looked down at himself, seeing his gloves, shirt and jacket were off. Tori noticed the look and was quick to tell him, "We thought you were bleeding, so I told Ray to check." She explained.

"Where do you get off thinking you have the right to give him such an order?" Kai asked angrily.

"He was the only one in here, its not like I was looking or anything and I'd much rather have you feel uncomfortable for a few minutes than have you bleed out on Tyson's clean floors." Tori said, her tone serious despite the slight humour at the end.

"Well did you find anything?" Kai asked, it being a bit more of a rhetorical question.

"No." Tori answered.

"My point exactly." Kai said, trying to sit up again.

Tori rolled her eyes and pushed him back down again, "Well you need to think of a plausible excuse." She reminded him. "When the others and I were talking we ruled out you passing out cause of the lack of food or exhaustion so I said you may have been sick now Ray has already been here and said that nothing seemed to be wrong."

"So where are you going with this?"

"We lie. I can say you have a fever and that's probably why you weren't well and all you have to do is go along with it."

"Since when did you become such a liar?" Kai asked.

"Well I don't lie too often but when I do turns out I'm really good at it."

"Yeah, apparently you are."

"And I will use my evil power of lying to get the others off your case. Till I get back, rest up." Tori said, getting off the ground and walking back outside to leave Kai alone.

Kai turned over onto his side, picking up Dranzer from where Tori had left the blade on the ground. He gripped it tightly before pushing himself up, he rested his head in his hands for a few seconds till the dizziness subsided. _'Master maybe you should lie back down.' _

'_I'll be fine.' _Kai assured, standing up. The dizziness only got worse and he leaned heavily against the wall for support, staring at the ground as he tried to focus his eye sight again. _'Or maybe not.' _he reconsidered, sitting back down.

'_Rest for a while Master, it may do you some good.' _Apparently Kai didn't even have to be told twice and he instantly lay back. After a few minutes of silence Dranzer decided to interrupt, _'Master…May we discuss something important?' _

'_Sure, I guess.' _

'_Well while you were out Denzelle and I had a conversation. She asked me to explain to her what was wrong with you so that…' _

'_You didn't say anything did you?'_

'_No of course not. But I sensed something, it seems as though they really do want to try to help you.'_

'_That's no reason to let them.' _Kai lashed out angrily.

'_And I'm not saying it is but it is a reason to consider talking to Tori about what's going on.' _

'_I'm not discussing anything with her.' _

'_Though you shouldn't dismiss the thought just yet, she may actually be of some help to you.'_

'_I can't ever say I can fully dismiss anything, even if I wanted to but I'm not willing to trust her with anything just yet.' _

'_Understandable, Master. Thank you for the talk but please get back to resting.' _

'_To be honest, I think I will.' _Kai thought, resting back into the pillow.

'_Good, I'll leave you to it.' _And Dranzer actually did, leaving Kai alone to relax in the silence.

Tori peered into the room, watching as Kai slept peacefully. She smiled, feeling Denzelle's presence in her heart once more, _'I think he just may consider talking to you sooner or later.' _

'_Yeah, I'm starting to think the same but I think we should give him some space. Help him out but not pressure him into anything just yet.' _

'_Sounds like a good idea to me.' _Denzelle agreed happily.

Tori walked back outside to the others, "I think I should go, I'm going to go home and get some homework done and I might be working a shift at the café later. Is that ok with you guys?" she asked, smiling.

"It means we have the rest of the day off right?" Tyson asked hopefully, standing right in front of her.

"Yep."

"Then of course it's ok with us." Tyson answered her.

"Ok well I'll be at my apartment in case you guys need anything. Kai's resting at the moment so just leave him alone for a while and I'll check up on him later. I'll see you later on tonight or if not, then tomorrow. Bye guys!" She ran out on them, hurrying back to her apartment. She really had no reason to get back home, she was in just a bit of a good mood and wanted to relax for a while and seeing as Kai was resting and she had a chance for a break of her own, she thought that the team at least deserved a break of their own.

Jumping onto her bed, she turned over and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. A light white light shone again and Denzelle appeared next to her on the bed, lying on her stomach but resting on her elbows to keep herself sitting up right. "What you thinking about?" she asked her Mistress.

"Oh not much."

"Do tell."

"Well I'm wondering if this will turn out right this time." Tori said quietly, staring at the ceiling for a minute.

"What do you mean?"

"Every single time we see that he's being nice and things are getting better something bad happens and everything goes wrong from then on, that's all our hard work down the drain."

"Yes of course but that's a risk in life like all the others."

"I'm fed up of risks. Can't life be nice to me for once and give me a break?" Tori asked exhaustedly.

"Apparently not." Denzelle answered with her usual smile. "Well cheer up for the night! You can worry about all this later."

"I guess you're right Denzelle, thanks."

"I live to serve, Mistress." Denzelle smiled happily; glad she helped her Mistress in some way.

"You live for a number or reasons, I'm sure. But right now instead of arguing I think I'm going to take Kai's wonderful example and get some rest of my own." Tori said, laughing as she got up to change.

"Yes, that may do you some good too. You know where to find me if you need anything." Denzelle said, getting off the bed too.

"Yeah, on my bedside table in my beyblade. You've been in there for years, its not going to be changing just yet apparently." Tori called from her bathroom as she changed.

"I'll talk to you later, Mistress." Denzelle laughed, returning to her blade the next second.

Tori walked out of her bathroom, jumping onto her bed and crawling under her covers. She cuddled into her pillow, lying on her stomach as she tried to sleep. Exhaustion overtook her quickly and she fell asleep in a matter of seconds, promising herself that she wouldn't sleep for too long in case she had to work her shift at the café later that evening.

She woke up with a start just over an hour later, waking up to the sound of her mobile ringing by her blade on her bedside table. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes while she picked up her phone and quickly looked at the message…from Kai;

'**_Spare me!'_**

Was written in the text, making Tori laugh hysterically, lying back in her bed. Now either he really did want to talk about something that was wrong or the others where trying to torture him. The second being the most likely she answered back, **_'What's up?' _**

She waited patiently for an answer and quickly it came, **_'The idiots don't let me out of my room!'_**

'**_I don't see how that's so bad!'_** Tori replied, though laughing as she typed it. Obviously having to stay in his room to rest wasn't the highlight of his day. ****

'_**They wont stop checking up on me!!!' **_

Tori lay down properly in bed, holding her phone up into the air as she replied, **_'Now is that so bad?' _**Now to be totally honest, she was starting to mess with him, she just found it funny at the time and couldn't help herself.

'_**YES' **_

'_**Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.'**_

'_**Actually if you don't remember right, I woke up on the right side of the bed, literally and metaphorically.' **_

'**_Whatever you say grumpy. Anyway, I'm off need to do some work. Feel free to have fun being tortured by your team mates though. :P' _**Tori joked, sending the message and putting her phone next to her on the bed. She didn't really have anything to do, she just wasn't in the mood for talking to much anymore, that and she wanted to mess with him a little.

'_**Well have fun doing home work.' **_

Tori smiled at his failed attempt, the joke truly was on him because she really didn't have any homework. "Don't worry…I will." She whispered with a smirk, pullying the file with papers out from under her bed.

**A/N: Ok so I got working on this earlier than usual and seeing as I may not have much time on the weekend to put it up I thought I should put it up now. Consider this my little Christmas present. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave me a review telling me what you thought of this chapter. Bye and Merry Christmas//gives everyone chocolate// **


	7. Trying Out A Friendship

**Chapter 7**

The next day Tori walked to the Dojo, seeing everyone outside so early made her smile happily. Though out of the bunch, as always, Kai was missing, no where to be seen. "Morning." Tori greeted. "How are you all this morning?" she asked, some humour in her voice and a smile on her face.

"We're fine."

"Yeah and we managed to keep Kai resting in his room." Max informed her happily.

Tori laughed lightly, "So I've heard." She said. "I'm going to go check up on him, if you don't mind." She told them, walking past them to go inside.

"We'd be careful if we were you." Tyson called after her, warning her.

"Oh? Why?" Tori asked, turning back to them as she walked backwards the last few steps.

"You'll see but just be careful." Ray answered for them.

"Sure…why not?" Tori asked herself, throwing her hands up in defeat as she turned and walked inside. She slowly made her way up the steps, opening Kai's bedroom door and peeked inside for him. She saw him lying down on his bed on his stomach with his head buried in his pillow.

She smiled, opening the door a little more and slowly began to step inside. "Hey, Kai." She said quietly. She ducked quickly, shielding her head with her hands. She opened her eyes, looking down at the object that was thrown at her. The pillow sat there in front of her, she slowly looked up at Kai, seeing him lying on his side with his back towards her.

She picked up the pillow and walked over to his bed, sitting down next to him as she peered over him to see if he was alright. He did look exhausted and his eyes were a little red, apart from that he did look fine to her but she highly doubted that he was okay and knew he was just very good at covering up how he felt. "What was that for?" she asked him.

"Watch it." Kai whispered, rubbing his temples as her voice bolted through his head painfully.

"Answer my question and maybe I will." Tori said, the level of her voice remaining the same.

"That was for making them keep an eye on me, or better yet, for keeping me locked in my room to rest." Kai replied, not lifting his head to look at her.

Tori sighed heavily, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder only for Kai to shrug it off a second later. She didn't persist, instead she sat back against the headboard and spoke quietly as he had asked, "You know it was only done for your own good."

"Don't start!"

"It's the truth. They're trying to look out for you, as am I."

"Which is no reason to lock me in my room with nothing to do." Kai said angrily.

"There wouldn't be any need for that if you would just listen to us when we tell you things for your own good." Tori told him. She blinked surprisingly at a sudden thought, "Ok, I'm going to go downstairs, you're getting the mother instinct out of me and I'm too young to be sounding like my parents." She quickly stood up and walked to the door, "You can come downstairs when you feel up to it." With that she quickly left, hurrying down the stairs.

Kai made no attempt at a reply, nor did he try or bother trying to get up, he just lay there tiredly. He opened his dull crimson eyes, turning over onto his back to stare at the ceiling but his vision was still a bit foggy. He sat up and got off of his bed, walking into the bathroom and staring at his reflection in the mirror, the sight almost frightening him. His eyes where far too red for his taste and he looked far paler than usual though apparently Tori hadn't noticed, otherwise she would have commented on either one which she didn't do. He rinsed his face with cold water and by the time he started to go downstairs his eyes had cleared up and no one had noticed a thing.

Tori kept a constant eye on him as always, checking up on him constantly but trying not to draw any attention from the others. He remained quiet all day and, while trying to stay on Kai's good side, Tori asked him if he wanted to battle the others during training but strangely enough he refused, not giving an answer as to why.

Max, Tyson and Ray where thankful Kai was taking things easy but Tori found it strange, that maybe some of her words, and Danielle's of course, where finally getting through to him. Now all she needed was him to cooperate a little bit more though she was more uncertain of whether his co-operation would continue at all after the day was done.

Kai felt himself being pulled out of the comforting darkness that was surrounding him, he tried to resist, but to no avail. Soon, he could see the bright light coming closer to him as he floated to the surface. It felt like he had been drowning for so long, and finally he was given the chance to break clear of the surface. He struggled to open his eyes, feeling like they weighed a ton. When he finally managed, a burst of light shone into his eyes and forced him to close them again. He felt a warm presence by his side that was speaking to him calmly. Kai decided to give it one more try, this time slower and with a bit more caution. When he did, he found that the lights had been dimmed and didn't hurt his sensitive eyes as much anymore. He took a deep breath, his eyes focusing again on the person that looked down at him with some worry in her eyes. "Tori…" he whispered hoarsely.

Tori smiled gently and very lightly, "Hey…I was starting to think you'd never wake up." She said quietly.

Kai looked up at her confusedly, before looking around him to see what was going on. He was lying in his bed back in his room which confused him the most as the last thing he remembered was watching the team practice and back then it was about 6pm. But now, now the sun shining through the blinds of his window and he was wrapped up in bed again. He pulled his hand out from under the warm covers and reached towards the draw of his nightstand. He pulled it open but before he had the chance to pull out his alarm clock Tori took his hand and placed it back onto the bed. "You…don't remember what happened do you?" she asked him.

Kai shook his head slowly, feeling another intense headache coming on at the sudden movement.

"Well you collapsed again."

"How……?" Kai began to ask.

"How long?" Tori asked, rephrasing what he was trying to say. "All night and its 2pm now." She answered.

"The…others…"

"They're all fine, a little worried but fine."

"I'm not…asking how they are…I'm asking if they're practicing." Kai said, exhaustedly shutting his eyes again.

Tori laughed, with Kai, something's never changed and in ways, it was a good thing, "How nice of you to show so much concern for them." She informed with a laugh, "They're practicing hard and doing well." She answered the earlier question. "You aren't going to tell us what happened are you?" She asked him, moving off the chair to sit on his bed.

Kai didn't answer, just turned his head away from her and opened his eyes to stare out the window.

Tori smiled caringly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "It's alright." She told him.

Kai's eyes widened slightly, her words surprising him to the point that his head shot to look at her. Though it wasn't a smart move, his head began to hurt even more and he began to rub his temples, silently hoping the pain would stop. He heard Tori's faint voice say that she was going to go get him something for that, he felt the light weight on his bed move and heard his bedroom door quietly close behind Tori.

'_What's wrong with me?' _He suddenly asked himself, his inner voice actually choking up on what felt like tears.

'_Master, please go and ask for some help.' _Dranzer pleaded.

'_No! Just leave me alone!' _

'_But Master…'_

'_Just go!' _Kai lashed out at him, much more out of pain than anger. Dranzer instantly left him alone, leaving him to lie there till things got better. Tori quietly walked back into the room, worriedly looking down at Kai. She passed him two pain killers and held out a glass of water to him but he didn't take it. She left the glass on the nightstand and walked over to the door, after turning back to look at him for another time she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

She walked down the stairs slowly, _'Go and keep an eye on him.' _She ordered Denzelle.

'_But what about you Mistress, my job is to protect you first, before anyone else?' _

'_I know and I appreciate it but I'm only going to be downstairs, he needs your help more than I do.' _Tori told her, walking into the Dojo where everyone sat.

'_I understand Mistress. You know where to find me if you need me.' _Denzelle said, leaving her Mistress to deal with the others by herself.

Tori smiled at the others as she sat down next to them, taking in all of their strange looks. "What?" she asked.

"How is he?"

"I think he'll be ok." Tori answered even though she knew that that wasn't the question that they had on their minds.

"Why…are you keeping us away from him?" Tyson asked, a hint of ice in his voice.

"Yeah, we're his friends; we deserve to go see him." Ray added.

Tori sighed, eyes saddening as she looked at each of them, "I have my reasons."

"Then what are they?" Ray asked, encouraging her to explain.

Tori thought for a moment, not for an excuse because she could just go with the truth but she wasn't sure if she should say anything at all, "The last thing he ever wants you to see is him in a bad state and if you were to go up there and talk to him then he's going to lash out at you and that'll start a whole argument."

"What makes you any different?" Tyson asked hurriedly.

"He hasn't known me as long and like it or not we get into arguments anyway, it'll make no difference to our friendship." Tori continued to explain.

"But still, we want the chance to go talk to him about this." Ray informed her.

"Hey well you go ahead and do that if you want to, it's your friendship on the line, not mine." Tori informed them coldly. She stood up and walked outside, not looking back at them as she tried to make a statement. Pulling out her phone she began to text Kai;

'**_The others plan on checking up on you. Tried to stop them but they obviously wouldn't listen.' _**Her writing was beginning to become shorter and straight to the point as she heard the others going up the stairs to Kai's room. **_'Just watch out and for everyone's sakes, try not to get angry' _**she sent it and bit her lip impatiently, hoping he got the text in time.

She sat down on the porch, sitting there for quite a while before everyone walked back out to talk to her. "So how'd it go?" she asked them.

"He wouldn't tell us a thing." Tyson said disappointedly.

"No surprise there, you aren't going to get anything out of him if you force him." Tori told him. With that all eyes where on her, questioning her on what she knew, "Well I haven't known him for too long but what I _do_ know is that the more you try to make him tell you how he feels and about what goes on with him, the deeper he goes into his shell. The force only makes him feel worse and the deeper he gets, the harder it'll be to get him to talk later on." She continued explaining.

"How'd you know all this?" Max asked, blinking in surprise.

"I'm a good…observer." Tori said quietly, eyes cast on the ground.

"Apparently."

"Well what did he do then?" Tori asked them.

"Didn't figure that part out yet?" Tyson asked, almost mockingly.

Tori shrugged casually and answered, "I have my suspicions but I'd like to keep those to myself until I know I'm right."

"Well even if you did understand what he did it wouldn't be right because it wasn't…" Tyson started.

"Normal?" Tori asked, finishing for him. "Yeah, I'll bet he just told you to leave him alone but didn't bother to yell at you or kick you out himself." She said with a sly smirk on her face.

"How'd you know?" Max asked, running and sitting right in front of her.

Tori blinked and pushed herself back a little, "Lucky guess?" she tried.

"Something must really be wrong with him if he didn't bother yelling at us." Ray thought aloud, "Not that I'm complaining that he didn't yell." He added quickly.

"Good. Just don't complain." Tori told him with a warning tone.

"But we still don't get what's wrong with him." Max brought to everyone's attention again.

"It can't be just a fever." Ray added on.

"Well I don't know anything either but all I do know is that you shouldn't stress him about this." Tori continued, advising them as best she could.

"We can't leave him like this though."

"We don't know what's wrong with him so there shouldn't be any sense in worrying just yet. Besides if he feels the need to tell us then he will eventually." Tori said.

"That's where you're wrong. Kai won't tell us anything, even if he does need our help with even the littlest thing. I don't think he'd tell us what was wrong even if we rammed him into a wall and force him to talk." Tyson objected.

"Let's not test that, shall we?" Tyson's example sending shivers down Tori's spine.

"To be totally honest…" Ray started, staring at the ground, "I think that every single time he seemed fine, something terrible was constantly happening to him."

"Yeah." Tori agreed quietly. "You've got some of the day off, I'm going to go upstairs and stay with Kai for a while. If he asks, you've been training all day." She said, smiling as she got up. She walked inside and slowly made her way up the stairs. She opened Kai's bedroom door, usually she'd knock but was afraid to considering he had a headache. She stepped inside, seeing Kai walk out of his bathroom.

"Thanks for the warning." He thanked quietly.

Tori smiled, nodding as a sign that it was no problem. "You feeling any better?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Look…I might be out of line in saying this but maybe you should go see a doctor about this." Tori said quietly, sitting on the bottom of his bed.

"You're right; you were out of line in saying that." Kai said coldly, "But thanks for the thought." He whispered.

"Hey I don't mind helping out at all. Like I said, I'm here to help you out."

"Yeah I see that but _why_ are you doing this?" Kai asked her, more than anything sounding as though he were ungrateful for any of the help he got.

Tori sighed and stared down at the ground, "You know that a while back the others said I was part of the team. So despite how much we tend to argue with each other you're still my team mate and team mates help each other out when they're in trouble."

"You don't even know what's wrong, you don't have a clue about what could be going on with me but you're still here trying to help."

"I know that." Tori whispered, looking back up at him.

Kai opened his mouth to speak, being cut off by a ringing coming from Tori's jacket pocket. She raised her index finger, signaling her to give him a minute though freezing when she noticed that it was Mr. Dickinson calling. She picked up the call, "Hello." She greeted.

"**_Hello Tori, how are things?"_** Mr Dickinson asked her.

Tori put the phone on loud speaker when Kai gave her a confused look, **_"Things are alright, thanks."_**

"**_Where are you?" _**

"**_Oh…well I'm at Tyson's. I left the others training by themselves for a while since I'm checking on Kai at the moment." _**Tori answered, her eyes rising from her phone to Kai, watching as his eyes widened.

"_**Oh? What's wrong with him?"**_

"**_He's just a little ill." _**Tori answered. Kai looked at her fiercely, silently telling her to stop talking.

"_**Then maybe he should get checked out by a doctor, I can send one over if you like." **_

Tori looked up at Kai, watching him step back, annoyance and somewhat fear in his crimson eyes. She turned back to looking down at her phone, thinking for a second, **_"Nah, I don't think that will be needed. I think he'll be just fine with a little rest." _**She answered Mr. Dickinson, a small smile evident on her young face.

Kai breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the bathroom door.

"**_You're the expert Tori; I'll leave you to it. Take care dear." _**

"**_Bye Mr. Dickinson." _**Tori ended the call and turned back to Kai. "That good for you?" she asked him.

"Yeah though you shouldn't have mentioned anything in the first place." The taller Russian told her.

"Be grateful." Tori said, narrowing her eyes.

"I am. Trust me, the last thing I wanted was to go to a doctor bout something that's not a problem."

"I partially agree with you there but I'm telling you from now, that I covered for you today but if things get worse you have to see a doctor and if you don't then I will personally drag you kicking and screaming to a hospital." Tori threatened him, though it sounding like a joke she looked very serious.

'_And she's crazy enough to do it.' _Denzelle muttered, not realizing that Kai could hear him.

"Denzelle get back here." Tori called out aloud.

"Do I even want to know?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger girl.

"Not really." Tori replied, shaking her head.

"Tell me anyway."

"Ah it's not much." Tori said, "I just sent Denzelle up here to keep an eye on you." She answered quickly under his cold glare.

Kai sighed heavily, walking over to his bed and sitting down, "Yet for some reason I can't bring myself to be mad."

"Oh well that's good on my behalf." Tori smiled happily upon hearing him say that. "I think I should get back to the others now, I'll check on you a little later."

"Can't I just go downstairs?" Kai asked.

"No, not just yet." Tori said, placing a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the fact that he winced under her touch. "I need you to stay up here for a while longer, maybe then you'll feel a little better."

"But I'm fine now." Kai argued with her, brushing her hand off his shoulder.

"Maybe so but a little more rest will do you some good." Tori informed him, turning to leave the room, "I'll see you later." She said before walking out of the room.

**---Later---**

Kai pulled on his jacket, walking out his bedroom door and running down the stairs. He snuck right past the Dojo where everyone else was, where he could hear them talking quietly amongst themselves, so wrapped up in the conversation that they'd never hear him leave. He made his way down to the beach; he had gotten a message from Tori earlier that evening after she left. She said she was going to be down by the beach and said that if he was well enough he could always join her.

He didn't really want to be around her, especially alone with her though as always, his curiosity tended to get the better of him and he wanted to know what she wanted to talk about, why she even bothered to invite him along. He did have to admit, Tori always surprised him. He would treat her like absolute dirt but she was still ready to help him, even when she didn't even know what the hell was going on. He still didn't think that she had enough leadership to be able to train the team but she did have other aspects that the team enjoyed. Also, he couldn't argue with Mr. Dickinson so he had to learn to deal with her.

He arrived down by the beach and from where he stood he could see Tori's thin silhouette by the water, dipping her feet into the cold water as she stared out where the moon reflected on the clear waters. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, making her turn around in fright. Once seeing who it was she visibly calmed down and smiled sweetly, "Hey there!" she said happily. "How are you?" she asked when she didn't get a greeting.

"I'm fine. Why'd you call me here?" Kai asked, getting straight down to business apparently.

"Friendly gesture. I thought that maybe you'd want to get out of there for a while but I'm not really trusting you to go out by yourself."

"Really? What could I possibly do that's so bad?" Kai asked her, folding his arms across his chest.

"I wouldn't know, that's why I don't trust you." Tori said with a grin. "So anything you want to do?" she asked him.

Kai shrugged, walking ahead of her along the beach with nothing really to say to her.

"Let's just go for a drink then, that good?" Tori asked him, watching as Kai nodded in reply.

They both did so, going to get a drink while they talked for a while. Kai just seemed out of it, sometimes not paying any attention to what was going on but trying his best at the conversation at hand. They spoke for hours, walking around the area before both went their separate ways to go back home. Tori was going back home to a quiet home by herself, while Kai was more than sure that the others had noticed his absence and where bound to question him on where he had been so he prepared himself for an argument as he made his way back to the Dojo.

**A/N: Hope this chapter was any good! Please tell me what you think in a review and please tell me if there is something in particular that you liked and enjoyed in any of my chapters. Merry Christmas everyone!**


	8. Threats

_**Chapter 8**_

Thankfully that argument never came which saved Kai a lot of yelling to do. Apparently Tori had texted Ray, telling him that Kai was with her and not to worry and especially not to give Kai a hard time when he got back. The last thing he really wanted was to argue with the team and so he was actually grateful of what Tori had done.

**---Next Morning---**

As she sometimes did, Tori arrived at the Dojo early when no one except Kai was awake. Though this time, the fact that he was awake already surprised her. "Hey, what are you doing up already?" she asked. She really couldn't help but ask, they had been out till about midnight and by then it had already looked like he was getting tired. The idea that he was already awake and downstairs waiting came to her as a bit of a surprise.

"I'm always awake at this time." Kai replied, keeping his eyes closed as always.

"Yeah, but you were up late." Tori pointed out, sitting next to him on the porch.

"It doesn't change anything."

"Clearly." Tori whispered, so quiet that it was as if it were just to herself. She sat forward, resting her head in her hands as she stared at the ground with a rather depressing look on her young features.

"Don't sulk." Kai's voice cut in.

"Huh?" Tori looked up confusedly, "Oh…well I'm not sulking…" she spoke quietly.

"Yeah you are."

"Yeah I know I am, sorry."

"Don't be. Maybe it contagious and the others will stop being so hyper all the time." Kai said, a small smirk creeping onto his face.

Tori laughed at that and answered, "No such luck there. I don't stay depressed for very long either and besides, I think it'll take much more than me to get them to stop being so hyper."

"You got that right." Kai muttered.

"You're in a good mood." Tori pointed out to him.

"You're so observant." Kai told her.

"Yeah I know I am. Why can't you be in this kind of good mood when you're around the others?" Tori asked, moving closer to him, looking up at him as she urged him to answer.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Kai told her rather coldly.

"Oh come on, just tell me already." Tori said, nudging him in the rib quite hard, "I don't think it'd kill you."

"It won't but if you hit me like that again I think _you_ just might." Kai said in a scolding tone, running his hand against where she hit his rib cage.

"So tell me." Tori said.

"What's there to tell?"

"They can't be bad enough that they put you in a bad mood."

"No?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Be reasonable." Tori told him.

"Well I am being reasonable but true they don't annoy me that much but how I act around people is really something I'm not in the mood to discuss."

"So what are you in the mood to discuss then?" Tori asked.

"Let's discuss your silence." Kai told her, looking at her with an honest smile.

"Oh ha-ha." Tori laughed sarcastically, "You can be really unfair sometimes, you know that right?"

"What do you think?" Kai asked her.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Tori said nodding. After about a minute she stood up with a start, and if Kai weren't so strong even emotionally she may have just scared him at her speed and height advantage she had on him. She took his hands and pulled him up, "Come on."

"What?" Kai asked her, standing up but pulling his hands out of hers.

"The others clearly aren't going to be waking up for about another hour so let's go out." Tori took his hands again and pulled him in the direction of the exit.

Kai sighed heavily, walking behind her instead of her having to drag him, "There really is no point in arguing is there?"

Tori pouted, looking at Kai as she let go of his hands slowly, "I really don't want to force you, it's just that you have no fun and this would be good for you."

Kai smirked, walking straight past her and out the exit, "What an actress." He muttered.

Tori ran after him, "Hey no fair, I wasn't being an actress or anything. I was just saying the truth." She said, that same disappointed look and pout taking over her features again.

"Yeah. I'll bet."

Tori chased after him down the street, trying to catch up with him half the time as she didn't know where they were even going. Instead she just kept walking after him and let him lead the way for a while.

**---A Little Later---**

Tori was at the counter at an ice-cream stand, ready to order ice cream for the both of them. She got them both chocolate since apparently it was one of the rare things they could agree on and turned to go give it to Kai but strangely, found that she couldn't see him anywhere. She set the ice-creams onto the table, pulling out her phone she tried to text Kai, **_'Where are you?'_**

**---With Kai---**

Without a glance back or even a word he walked out onto the bright street and down into an ally, feeling a little bad about ditching Tori but knowing that if he broke down around her then he would never forgive himself for it. He wouldn't allow himself to.

Once in the ally, far away and in the opposite direction from where he had left Tori he sat down with his back against the wall and quickly drew his knees up against his chest. The morning air was warm but a still gentle wind still brushed over his skin and the sky was clear and sunny, but heedless of all this he still started to shiver and shake. He closed his pained crimson eyes and put his head, which now felt too heavy for him, down into the nook between his legs and chest.

Trying hard he tried to make his body stop shaking and relax but the ringing and vibration from his phone startled him. He pulled out his phone and read the text he got from Tori, clearly she was worried already. Somehow he just knew that she was worried, as if she were there instead of that message, as if he could hear her voice wondering where he was and if he was ok.

Despite all his senses told him, he just deleted the text and decided not to answer her back. Tiredly he rested there for a few minutes, for a long time trying hard not to let himself fall asleep there in the ally. Thankfully he was wrong when he thought he was going to break down again. A shaking hand traced over onto his shoulder, feeling the tense muscles beneath it as he exhaustedly tried to push himself off the ground. For a minute he leaned against the wall, only till he felt he had enough energy to start walking back from the way he came.

Catching sight of Tori, sitting by herself at a table, finishing off her ice-cream, he walked over to her and sat down at the table with her. "Hey, where were you?" she asked, hurriedly sitting forward in her seat.

"Oh…bathroom, wasn't feeling too well." Kai replied, it being the quickest answer he could come up with.

"Oh well are you ok now?" Tori asked, relaxing as she sat back again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kai nodded.

"Have I ever told you that you worry me?"

"Yeah, I think you've mentioned that a couple of times."

"Yeah, I was almost sure I did." Tori sighed.

"I'm fine, I promise." Kai persisted, almost angry that she didn't believe him.

"Sometimes you make me wonder whether I should believe you or not."

"Let's not get into that subject."

"It's safest for me to stay out of an argument with you, isn't it?"

"Let's start heading back." Kai told her, getting up and starting to walk away, trying to ignore the subject she was trying to bring up.

Tori sighed, standing up she waited behind for a minute, just standing there as she watched him walk away. Where had that nice guy gone? There where times he made her so happy and he'd be so close to talking to her honestly about what was going on with him but then he just shut himself up again and that nice guy she had come to know with time disappeared as though he were never there in the first place. Well, nice wasn't exactly the correct word to use but what else could she say? But at least now they had descent conversations with each other without them yelling at each other all the time, which was definitely a plus since from the very first day they met there was already friction between the two of them.

She ran up to him and hooked her arm onto his as she smiled up at him. He looked down at her confusedly; a little frustration on his face but that sort of disappeared when he saw her smiling sweetly up at him. For some reason he didn't bother pushing her off, more over he just didn't have enough energy to push her off and besides, he knew she'd let go once they were nearer to the Dojo and that wasn't too far away.

Having her by him wasn't so bad. True he felt it as strange and rather awkward but in the end of it he didn't mind all too much. It just got annoying that if he suddenly shivered she would usually feel it and looked up at him with her dark eyes filled with worry as they almost always looked at him. He either passed it off and kept walking or else gave her a reassuring look or in the least a light smirk that made her smile.

Once they arrived at Tyson's place, Kai was right and she did let go, running inside the Dojo to see if the others had woken up yet. Ray was already in the kitchen making breakfast while Max was sitting at table already digging into the food that was ready and spread out onto the table. "Hey, where have you two been?" Max asked, while putting more food on his plate.

"We went for a walk and some ice-cream." Tori replied happily.

"Oh lucky! Why didn't you wait for us?"

"Because it was just a treat for us and you all have training soon." Tori said with a grin towards the youngest blader. "Now don't complain." She added when Max opened his mouth to speak again. Tori left the kitchen, to look for Kai again. She found him on the porch leaning against the door with his arms crossed as usual, she placed a hand on his forearm, looking into his crimson eyes which had just snapped open at her. "Go and get something to eat." She told him.

"Nah, not hungry."

The auburn-haired girl sighed, looking down at the ground, "You need to go eat."

"I'm fine."

"Maybe for now but I still want you to go eat." Tori continued persisting, pulling on his arm more and starting to pull him inside.

Anger built inside Kai quickly and he tried hard to pull out of Tori's hold but in the process he slammed his wrist right into the door. Tori turned and looked at him worriedly, looking down at his hand that was balled into a fist by his side. She took the hand and noted how his knuckles had gone pure white from the pressure he was putting on it. Kai pulled his hand out of hers, dropping it by his side as he gently opened his fist before the bruising got any worse.

"Come on." Tori said, letting him walk past her to the kitchen.

Kai sat down at table, slowly putting some food onto a plate and sat there trying to eat. In the mean time Tori rested against the door frame, waiting for Tyson but more interested in making sure that Kai ate something. He hardly did, instead he just kept playing with his food, his head resting on one hand as his fork moved food from one side of the plate to the other. She stood there worriedly, looking on as though she wanted to do something.

"Tori. Tori?" A voice cut through her thoughts. She opened her eyes and looked directly at Ray who was in front of her trying to get her attention.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you having breakfast?" Max asked from the table.

"Ah no I had at home." Tori replied.

"Oh well can you please go try wake Tyson, he clearly isn't going to wake up by himself." Ray said, finally settling down at table to eat.

"He hasn't woken up by himself for the past four years, he obviously isn't going to wake up by himself now." Kai said, his eyes still cast on his plate, his fork still moving his food.

Tori smiled at the bit of humour in Kai's voice. She turned and ran up the stairs to go wake Tyson up for training, stepping into a room she saw it wasn't Tyson's as the room was neat. She took it as the room being Ray's. Checking another room the bed was messily undone and a surprisingly big bag of chocolate was sticking out of the nightstand so needless to say that that was Max's room. _'Well that explains a lot.' _She thought with a laugh, referring to the bag of chocolate. She skipped past Kai's room, already knowing it was his and she just went into the next room, she raised an eyebrow at the sight of Tyson sprawled across his bed.

She grabbed the blankets from underneath Tyson and pulled them, tossing him right off the bed and onto the carpeted floor. She blinked confusedly, you'd think someone being tossed right out of their bed would wake them up but it clearly didn't. She picked up a bottle of cold water from the nightstand and sat on the bed, thinking for only a second before turning the bottle over onto Tyson's sleeping form.

Tyson shot up in bed, almost yelling as the freezing cold water seeped into his clothing and chills ran down his spine. "Good to see you're awake, sunshine." Tori greeted, an amused smile on her face.

"That was cold, Tori." Tyson said, frustrated.

"Yeah, what luck that the water seemed to have just got out of a freezer." Tori said, casually looking down at the emptied bottle in her hand. She stood up, walking to the door she threw the empty bottle over her shoulder, hitting Tyson right on the head. "Be downstairs for breakfast soon." She ordered.

She left the male blader there to curse angrily at the ways she chose to wake him up. She ran back down the stairs and was about to pass by the kitchen when she stopped in the doorway, Ray and Max looked at her, beckoning her to tell them what she was looking on so confused about. Ray caught on quickly and shook his head in a reply, gesturing over his shoulder where Kai's plate sat on the counter, he had barely touched a thing and very little had been eaten at all.

She sighed and turned to walk outside, she saw Kai blading by himself, more than anything he was perfecting his launches and as he didn't notice that anyone was watching, he let just a little bit of pain from his wrist show though he pretended so much that it didn't hurt and even if it did that he didn't care. Tori placed a strand of her hair behind her ear as she walked over to him and picked up his blade and put it in her jacket pocket.

Kai moved his hand up to take his blade back out of her pocket while Tori took the chance to take his hand in time. She kept it gently laying on her hand, his palm face up as she pulled a white neat cloth from her other pocket, the corner had the letter 'T' in pale pink and Tori used it wrap around Kai's wrist. As she worked on tightening it around his wrist she kept her eyes on the task at hand, a pale pink tainting her cheeks. Tori looked up at Kai for a second before walking back to the front porch and settling down there, the others quickly joined her there for training.

Yet Tori suddenly decided to leave training in Kai's hands and just sat there and watched everything from there like she usually did. She had given Kai his blade back once she told him to run the training, though she trusted him with training she still was trying to be careful. She constantly kept an eye on Kai, not liking the fact that he hadn't eaten but she really couldn't do anything about it, and that's probably the part that frustrated her the most.

Kai ordered the others to run down to the beach for the rest of their training but Tori planned on stopping him before Kai had the chance to follow the others. She placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back and turned him round to look at her, she jerked her head towards the Dojo. "Go back and get something to eat, I'm going to go keep an eye on the others."

"I'm not hungry, what part of that don't you understand?" Kai asked her angrily, walking past her.

"Hungry or not I want you to go and get something to eat before you pass out…_again_!"

"I'll be fine." Kai kept walking on, not turning back to even look at her, he just continued making his way down to the beach.

"I'm dead serious Kai." Tori said, walking up in front of him. "I swear, I'll make it known to the others and I'll get a doctor to check on you in a second and I really don't want to do that to you but you leave me no choice."

Kai paused for a second, shuddering ever so slightly before he kept walking on. Tori leaned against the wall, silently cursing at herself for not being convincing enough. She shook her head and continued walking down the street, not even bothering to try to catch up with Kai.

**---Later That Night At Home---**

Tori lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling still being a little upset about Kai. Like most times, things would go great between them but then things would turn for the worst but why couldn't he just see that she just cared about him and she couldn't help it. She didn't care about him because she was hired to care, she cared because he was her new team mate and he was there suffering right in front of her and he couldn't just expect her to sit there and do nothing to help him.

Turning on her stomach she rested her head on her crossed arms, the killing silence of her apartment getting to her, tears slipping from her brown eyes and down her pale cheeks while the tears racked her slender frame.

Unknown to her Denzelle and Mr Dickinson stood just outside the door way of her bedroom. Denzelle had opened up for him when she heard him coming up the flight of stairs and both took a peek at Tori's form as all her worries and pain from the past few weeks finally revealed itself.

**---With Kai---**

The Russian blader sat on the edge of his bed, doing nothing as he thought back to Tori's earlier threat. True after that he did eat a little, he took some fruit but that's about all he could actually take at the time. Though he couldn't help but wonder, if she was actually serious with that threat, if she would actually do it if he didn't keep his eating up. Its not that he didn't want to go eat but he just couldn't take it, eating before he went to bed only made his sleeping worse for him and even then his sleeping patterns where messing up since he hadn't slept in a while.

He took off his black gloves, seeing the white and pink cloth was still wrapped tightly around his wrist for support. He pulled it off, sighing at the sight of the large bruise on his pale wrist which he hadn't seen so bad until now. His wrist was the least of his worries though, he had promised Dranzer that he'd try to get some sleep that night and like most things going on around him, he really wasn't up for it. He placed the soft linen on his bedside table and got up and changed for bed. He tried to put off resting for as long as he could, doing little things like looking out the window but Dranzer's annoying voice cut through his thoughts more than half the time so he switched off the light and got into bed, his eyes sometimes focusing on the cloth that still sat on his bedside table, the sight of it taking him back to Tori's threat.

**A/N: So what did you think of this chapter? I quite liked how some of it turned out, there where parts I enjoyed writing, some other parts I really wasn't sure of but thought I'd leave in there. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes but my USB was being an arse again and it was deleting half my work practically every time. Please tell me how I did on this chapter as I really would like an opinion on this one, I hope it was any good and please tell me if there was something in particular that you enjoyed. Thanks for reading! **


	9. Painful Discoveries

_**Chapter 9**_

"Morning Max." Tori greeted with a yawn as she entered the Dojo and saw him sitting there.

"Good morning." Max said happily, his hyper-ness making Tori wince.

"How can you be so cheery in the morning?" she asked. She suddenly thought back to the other day in his room, "Actually…don't answer that."

Max smiled happily at her, pulling her down onto the ground to sit next to him.

"Where are the others?" Tori asked, lying back on the ground next to him.

"Kai left, Tyson is in bed and Ray is making breakfast."

"Hey, does Tyson really want me to go wake him up? Cause I'm pretty sure that I can find many more painful ways to wake him up."

"Yeah, I'm sure you can. I heard how you woke him yesterday, sounded cruel but I'll bet it was funny."

Tori laughed thinking back, "Yeah it was pretty funny to watch, it was even funnier that I got to do it. It's not like it was something I got to do everyday."

"Then let's go wake him." Max told her, getting off the ground.

"Sounds good to me." Tori said, shooting off the ground and chasing after Max to Tyson's room.

"Hey where are you two going?" Ray asked, looking out of the kitchen as he saw the two mischievous teenagers run past and heard them chase each other up the stairs.

"To wake Tyson." Tori called. Max and Tori peeked into Tyson's room, laughter already building up as they walked inside the sleeping boy's room. "So any ideas?" she asked, not bothering to whisper.

"Not really, I was just hoping you would think of something."

"How about we start off by tossing him out of bed like yesterday?"

The grin on Max's face easly answered Tori's questions and both went to tug at the sheets. Tori mouthed a 'one, two, three' and on the mark they both rolled the sleeping blader out of his bed and onto the ground as Tori had done yesterday.

"I still find it hard to believe he doesn't wake up when he hits the ground." Max said, staring at the fallen boy.

"Yeah, it's weird if you ask me."

"So what next?" Max asked hurriedly.

"I don't know, how about…we throw him against a wall?!" Tori asked quickly, a bit of excitement and humour in her voice.

"That's something Kai would say." Max told her.

"Is it? Who would've thought." Tori thought with a laugh. "So I take it that it's too rough to actually do huh?"

"Yeah, let's try something that won't cause brain damage."

"Is it possible to cause any more?" Tori asked rather casually, holding a straight face.

Max laughed before turning back to Tyson on the ground, maybe thinking of something to wake him.

"Hey Max…" Tori asked slowly, mostly quiet.

"Yeah?" Max asked, looking at her, seeing she was staring at the ground beneath her.

"Where did Kai go?" Tori asked, looking up at him.

**---With Kai---**

'_Why can't I get that stupid dream out of my head?!' _Kai asked himself, for about the tenth time since he left the Dojo early that morning. He's had strange dreams before, some terrifying ones too but the one he had had the night before was one that he just couldn't forget. He sat in a café at a table by himself, a mug of coffee in his hand though his mind was far from the present and the coffee had probably gotten cold long before.

_**---Dream---**_

**_All the Bladebreakers sat in the Dojo, the silence was strong and it had been that way ever since they got that one call. Max had tears slipping off his face, Ray clearly looked upset and like the others, he was shocked. Tyson sat there, a bit of anger in his eyes through the tears that he chose not to let slip just yet. Kai sat at the back of the room his eyes closed, trying so hard to pretend that all he had heard wasn't true or in the least that he didn't care about what happened. "I cant believe it." Max whispered._**

"_**She's gone, Max!" Tyson yelled angrily.**_

"_**We didn't even know, you couldn't even tell." Ray went on.**_

**_The news had just come in, Tori had died earlier that morning. All they were told was that she was in a bad condition though they weren't told what exactly was wrong with her. Now all their hearts broke at the thought that their trainer was dead and they wouldn't be seeing her smile every morning or hearing her orders for training ever again. Komatsu Tori was gone with the wind, gone from the physical plane and all that lived on where the memories in their hearts and minds but for Kai…he swore that not even that would be left for if she were gone then he would ban every memory and thought of the girl, as if the auburn-haired teenager never existed to him as he did so many others. _**

_**---End Dream---**_

Somehow the emotions from that dream began to get to him and he hated the feelings he got from it. He probably hated it the most because he couldn't help but suddenly give in to the thought that he may just be letting Tori be a friend to him. He couldn't help it, there was something about her that stuck by him that no matter how hard he pushed her away she'd keep coming back to help him. He couldn't even help but think that maybe his dream could come true, and maybe something bad did happen to her and he was just sitting in a café feeling horrible about what happened the night before and for considering her a friend to him.

Getting off the chair, paid for all the coffee he drank just that morning and made his way back to the Dojo. On the way there his heart beat quickened, fear nagging at his heart silently praying that nothing bad had happened to Tori, hoping that it was just a dream and nothing more. At any second he was more than ready to kill himself for letting himself get so emotionally attached to the younger girl and letting himself get so worked up over a dream that involved the teenager.

He arrived at Tyson's place, seeing Tori sitting out on the porch talking to Tyson. Relief washed over Kai as he saw her though he made sure that it didn't show and that nothing more than a blank look on his face and the coldness in his eyes could be seen. "Morning Kai." Tori greeted, seeming happy as always.

He gave her a nod in reply then silently walked past them and went inside. Tori looked on after him, wanting to follow after him to talk to him for a while, maybe see if he was mad at her or something. Once again she was snapped out of her thoughts by the neko-jin beside her as she had apparently spaced out again. "He's alright you know." Ray told her.

"Oh?"

"He had breakfast this morning and he slept last night." Max told her happily.

"Whatever you said to him must have really got to him." Ray said.

Tori turned to look back to where Kai had gone, _'Though now I wish I said nothing.'_ She thought. She shook her head and got up, wavering slightly at first before starting to walk over to the bey dish to get some personal practice in before training the others. Stopping she reconsidered everything, her face went expressionless and she just stood there, her arms by her side she slowly felt forward and onto the ground. Her hands moved as she tried to stop herself from falling but she was too late and the aching pain in her head persisted.

The other two male teenagers ran towards her, helping her sit up, all of their worrying overwhelming her. Kai was just about to walk out of the Dojo when he saw Tori collapse, his breath caught in his throat and he turned back to where he had come from, running back up the stairs to his bedroom, the sight of what had happened scaring him more than he realized.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Max asked, both Ray and him helping Tori off the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tori answered. "I think I'm going to go home though." She said quietly, "Is that alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. We'll walk you home."

"No!" Tori said quickly, "There's no need." She added, making her way towards the exit.

"What if you collapse again?"

"Trust me, you'll be the first to know." Tori told them, walking on out of sight. She kept on walking, ignoring the protests off the team mates that she left behind at the Dojo's gate.

'_Mistress…' _

'_How long now?' _Tori interrupted.

'_5 months, Mistress.' _

'_Sounds right.'_

'_Mistress…you still have a chance…please.' _The bitbeast pleaded through her cracking voice and tears.

'_I've made my decision and I'm not changing it.' _Tori said calmly though Denzelle's fearful voice in her mind almost making her want to cry and change her mind, though she stood strong, she had made her decision. She arrived back at home, not hearing a word from her bitbeast, who, as far as she could tell, was still crying.

Tori tried her best to ignore the sobbing bitbeast and got changed, sliding beneath the covers of her soft bed she rested her head on her arms on the pillow. Denzelle appeared beside her, sit on the pillow next to her in a pure white icy dress, plain and simple. "I'm not being very supportive am I?" she asked.

"What gave you that idea?" Tori asked almost spitefully.

"I'm sorry…" Denzelle started.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not that mad or anything."

"I still feel the need to apologize."

"Well don't. You're going to give me a headache with all the apologizing you'll probably do."

"Now that's something I don't want to do." Denzelle said with a laugh, stopping when she did hear a laugh from her Mistress, "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

The teenager didn't give an answer as she had just fallen asleep again, Denzelle smiled softly before leaving the girl to her peaceful dreams. She walked into the living room and set herself down on the sofa, her eyes falling on Tori's mobile that was on the table. She picked it up and looked around until she found Mr Dickinson's and for a long time she considered calling him to tell him what was wrong. N the end though she decided not to, she was all for her Mistress' privacy, yet she was also for her Mistress' health.

**---Next Morning---**

"Where is she?" Tyson asked impatiently and angrily. "Try call her again!" he yelled at Ray.

"We've already tried, Tyson." Kai pointed out.

"Then try again!"

Before Kai could lash out at him they all heard the phone ring and Tyson went to pick it up, like most times it was Mr Dickinson which disappointed them all seeing as they were hoping it was Tori. He called claiming he wanted to know how things where going around there with their training and all but Tyson was quick to ask if he knew where Tori was or if he'd heard from her. "Well of what I've heard is that Tori had an important doctors appointment this morning, maybe she'll be there later." Mr Dickinson replied.

"Oh, we'll try contact her later then."

Soon Kai was on his way out, "Where are you going, Kai?" Max asked.

"Out, you've got the morning off." Kai replied, leaving them alone as he walked off to Tori's place in search for some answers. He arrived there in record timing, nothing on his mind aside from the will to get answers about what was going on with the auburn-haired teenager. He knocked hard on her apartment door and saw a girl in pure white answer the door, "Who are you?" he asked.

"Denzelle."

"Right so where's Tori?" Kai asked, not entirely believing her anyway.

Denzelle stared at the ground for a second, biting down on her lip, "Kai, she's at the hospital…things aren't looking too good." She said quietly.

**A/N: As I do with most of my fics, I put a little spin on things. Can anyone say they saw any of this coming? Honestly? Well tell me if you did, if you didn't and what you think is going to happen. I really want to know what you thought of this, I promise I'm trying really really hard to make this fic the best I can. I hope you're enjoying it so far! **

**Arigato, sayonara! **


	10. Conflicts

_**Chapter 10**_

"What do you mean it doesn't look good? What doesn't look good?" Kai asked, lashing out at the bit-beast.

"I've said far too much already. You'll have to talk to her yourself, the hospital, check the children's ward, you'll probably find her there." Denzelle advised, going to close the door.

Kai's hand rammed against the door to keep her from shutting him out, "Don't lock me out here, explain to me, what's going on?" he asked.

Denzelle stopped, opening the door again but not allowing him in, she stepped closer to him, almost startling the shaken boy. She ran a hand along his cheek, tears in her own eyes. "Go find her, talk to her, be afraid, just say something. Not to me, to her!" With that Denzelle disappeared in a flash of white light and the apartment door closed by itself in an instant.

Kai shook his head, turning round he ran, making his way to the closest hospital where Denzelle had told him that Tori would be. He shivered as he ran there the whole way, something inside him made him want to make sure she was okay though a part of him actually scolded him for getting close to her, especially before he knew all the facts.

Arriving at the hospital, he asked around for directions to the children's ward and stopped in the doorway, eyes widening at the sight before him.

Tori sat on the end of a bed that a little girl with a broken arm was lying in. Her auburn hair fell elegantly over her shoulders, as she did when she dressed up, she looked very pretty but he couldn't help but notice the pale face and the slight shivering. In spite of this, her voice was still strong as she sang to the children in a sweet voice to some music that was playing on a recorder on the table.

"Meguriau kiseki to  
(miracle power)  
Kakegae no nai toki wo  
(special time forever)  
Zenbu taisetsu ni shite  
Ikite yukeru  
Ikusen no omoi  
(thousand words)  
Yozora ni kiete yuku  
(twinkle star forever)  
Ima shika dekinai koto  
Yaritogetai  
I wanna be with you.  
My best friend  
(I'm proud of you)  
Zutto issho ni  
(feel my heart)  
(please, please, please)  
(my best friend)"

Tori smiled at all the cheering kids before standing up, she quietly told them all to get well soon and made her way out of the room and past Kai, who still looked on into the ward. "How long are you going to keep standing there?" she asked him.

"I didn't know you could speak Japanese." Kai said, blinking, finding he was distracted from the original reason as to why he was there, "Hell I didn't even know you could sing." He added.

"I don't like to sing that much, I do sometimes, and if it made the kids feel any better than I was all for it." Tori replied, not turning to look at him, "How did you know I was here?" she asked him.

"A certain bit-beast told me."

"Traitor." Tori muttered.

"So why are you here? Singing to little kids no less?"

"I get a physical every month and cheer up the kids at the same time."

"I'm in the dark but I'm not stupid, it's more than a physical, something's wrong."

"To think, a few days ago I was telling you about the same things." Tori said, smiling at him, "I don't have time to argue, I'll be at the Dojo later." With that Tori walked on down the halls, leaving Kai alone with the rage that brunt inside. "Oh but Kai…I'd get out of here if I were you." Tori suggested from down the hall, indicating over his shoulder.

Though Kai hated to admit it, she was right and he decided to get out of the hospital quickly, apparently if kids saw a blader round a hospital they'd have a damn field day and last thing he wanted was to be around kids at the time. He wasn't about to give up so easily though, he planned to get more answers out of her than she could ever get out of him.

**---About An Hour Later---**

Tori walked out of the room she had entered before leaving Kai, bowing towards the doctor and nurse who had treated her. She walked along the corridors of the busy hospital, smiling at all the patients and nurses that passed by, some giving her concerned looks. How'd they all know what was wrong with her? Damn nurses and their gossiping ways. She walked out of the hospital doors and down the path to go to the Dojo to meet the others. She suddenly heard footsteps behind her and she shot around to look at who was following her, "Don't sneak up on a person like that, Kai!"

"I wasn't sneaking." Kai said flatly.

"Sure you weren't." Tori said, turning and continued to walk.

"Tell me what's going on Tori." Kai ordered.

Tori sighed and turned to face him, her hand on her handbag strap tightening, "I'm only going to tell you the truth because I need your support." She said. Kai stood opposite her, silent as he waited for her to explain, "I need to say that I'm ok but I can tell you the truth about this."

"Hurry it up already!"

"I only have about 5 months left to live." Tori told him quietly. She slowly took in the look on Kai's face, confusion, pain, anger, it was all there. "I've got a brain tumour, I've known for a long time now and I don't have a problem with it anymore."

"What? There's a chance you'll recover right?!"

Tori turned and began to walk on, Kai following close behind her to hear her speak, "There's surgery but the chances of that working are slim and applying for something like that would be a joke." She said with a supportive smile.

"This isn't a laughing matter!" Kai yelled angrily at her. "If there's any chance of that surgery working than take it."

"I don't want to waste what's left of my life."

"So basically you're asking me to support a suicide attempt."

"It's not suicide!"

Kai grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around to look at him. "So how can you do this to a person?" he asked her.

"Do what?"

"Let someone get so close to you when you're just going to leave them by themselves in a couple of months."

Tori stood there, the tears quickly surfacing in her eyes as she stood there staring back at him as she didn't have an answer.

"You don't have an answer do you?" Kai yelled angrily. "I can't believe it." He whispered, letting go of her. "How could you be so cold?" he lashed out.

"I don't want to be treated as someone who's about to die, I want to be treated like a friend."

"You should have told us the truth from the start."

"I didn't take it as a big deal." Tori told him truthfully, stepping forward.

Kai stepped away from her, glaring coldly at her, "Yeah well it is a big deal. Maybe you didn't think it would be to me but what about the others?"

"I'm sorry, Kai."

"If you're so sorry then go back to that hospital and get that surgery done!"

Tori turned round so he wouldn't see her tears as she walked on, "It's not that easy." She whispered.

They both entered the Dojo's gates, Kai still fuming with rage though his eyes shadowed so no one could really see. "Hey, guys." Tyson greeted.

"Hey, Kai, what's wrong?" Max asked, seeing Kai's anger clearly.

"Ask Tori!!" Kai growled, walking inside and to his room.

Tori shut her eyes and sighed, opening them again she walked into the Dojo, sitting on the ground by herself for a minute till the others joined her. "What's he talking about, Tori?" Ray asked, sitting down next to her.

"He's just upset…that I'm going to die in a few months." Tori said, looking up at them.

"What?!"

"Yeah, I'm suffering from a brain tumour and I don't have that much time left."

"Isn't there something you could do?" Max asked, tears stinging his own eyes.

_**---Flashback---**_

"_I didn't take it as a big deal." Tori told him truthfully, stepping forward. _

_Kai stepped away from her, glaring coldly at her, "Yeah well it is a big deal. Maybe you didn't think it would be to me but what about the others?"_

_**---End Flashback---**_

"No there isn't but look, guys…I don't want to be treated any differently than you've treated me since we met. I don't want to be treated like I can't do anything for myself, alright?"

The others all looked at each other confusedly, pain clearly seen in all of their eyes at the thought but they couldn't help but nod, they just didn't want to do anything that could hurt her, thinking that if she wanted them to treat her like they always did then they had to do it for her.

Tori smiled happily, "Thanks guys, you're the greatest!" she said, hugging them all.

"But what are we going to do about Kai?" Tyson asked very quietly, still taking in the fact that Tori was going to die soon but trying to change subject a little.

"I'll talk to him about it a little later." Tori told them, nodding.

**---Two Hours Later---**

Tori walked up the stairs to Kai's room, a little happy that the others accepted what was going on with her though upset that it depressed Kai so much. She knocked on his bedroom door, no answer. She opened the door ajar and peeked inside, Kai lying on his bed staring at the ceiling in thought. He turned to look at who was at the door, seeing her there he turned away from her onto his side. "Don't be like that, Kai." Tori whispered, closing the door behind her. "Dieing isn't my choice."

"You have the chance to save yourself, you could take it but you won't." Kai's voice broke through the silence angrily.

Tori walked over to where she could see him, sitting on the ground, drawing her knees up to her chest, "It's not easy, Kai." She whispered, "I'd much rather be limited to time and live that time the best I can, then to live a lifetime that means nothing to me. Can't I just live my last few months well?" she asked.

"How long have you been going to hospital for this?" Kai asked, opening his eyes and sitting up.

"Just this once ever since I got here." Tori answered, smiling lightly. "See? It's not like I'm going to be living my last few months in hospital." She said, standing up.

"Yeah."

Tori placed a hand out in front of him and Kai looked past that to the sweet smile planted on her lips, "Come on, everyone's coming to my place for dinner and a movie."

Kai pushed past her hand and walked out of the room. Tori ran after him and before Kai got down the stairs she placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry." She whispered again.

Kai just shrugged her hand off of him and met up with the others waiting for them outside. "Shall we go?" Max asked.

"Well everyone's here so yes, Max, we shall go." Tori said with a laugh.

They all made their way to Tori's apartment, taking their time, talking and laughing with each other, except Kai of course. He was at the back, furthest away from the others but most importantly, Tori. Ray paused and waited for Kai as they walked together, "Why are you so angry with Tori?" Ray asked him.

"No reason."

"You two argue about everything, that I know but this seems big. Is it about her illness?"

"Drop it, Ray."

"If it is, you can't blame her for it, there's nothing she can do."

"There is something she could do, she just chooses not to." Kai said through gritted teeth.

"What are you going on about?"

"Just drop it and don't bring up the subject again."

"Fine." Ray muttered, walking on.

'_I can't believe she's going to die…after I got so close…'_

'_You didn't know.'_

'_But I should've.'_

'_This doesn't need to affect your friendship with her though.'_

'_She's going to die, Dranzer, how could I be friends with her when I'm just going to lose her later?'_

'_You can't change the facts but maybe it'll be good for the both of you to still remain friends.'_

'_Just when you think life can't get any worse, it does.'_ Kai thought finally as they all entered the apartment together.

Everyone except Tori sat down on the couch while she took the phone off the kitchen counter, "So what do you guys want to order?" she asked. "I'm thinking…pizza." She said, jumping onto the sofa next to Ray.

"Sounds good."

They each took it in turns with the phone saying what they wanted on their pizzas, Tori tossed the phone to Kai who was last but he only tossed it back to her. "Not hungry." He said simply.

Tori sighed, soon ending the call. If he didn't wan t to eat, she couldn't force him, especially now that he didn't trust her as much.

The food came quickly, and all were quick to dig into their food. Especially Tori who hadn't eaten since before breakfast but she couldn't help but see the tired and drained look on Kai's face as he stared at the ground. She got up and ran to the kitchen, coming back to the living room with a small plate and a slice of pizza on it. She knelt down and handed it to him, the most worried look on her face that any of those in the room had ever seen on her.

"You can have it." Kai told her.

The female teenager placed the plate in his hands, "No, I'm not going to be able to eat the whole pizza so you can take this." Tori said. She went back to sitting in her original place, finishing off a slice of pizza, sometimes glancing up at Kai to see if he was eating. Thankfully he was, which actually made her feel so much better and the light throbbing that was going on in her head subsided shortly after. In the end, they decided not to put on a movie after all, instead they just kept talking the whole time until the conversation was interrupted by the phone ringing.

Tori picked up the phone quickly, "Konban wa." She greeted. Her eyes widened slightly and she got off the sofa, idicating to the others that she'd only be a minute before she ran into her room. "Yeah, I told them."

"How did they react?" Mr Dickinson asked on the other end of the line.

"I told them that there was nothing I could do about it and they accepted it. Though Kai knows the truth, that there's surgery so he took it the hardest out of the lot." Tori explained quietly. She turned round, seeing Kai standing in the door way, casually leaning against the frame. "I'm going to have to get back to you in the morning, good night." She ended the call quickly.

"You and Mr Dickinson talk regularly?" Kai asked her.

"He checks up on me a lot, while in Japan he's actually my guardian."

"And even he can't convince you to go through with the surgery?"

"I'm stubborn."

"Yeah, I noticed." Kai said, closing the door behind him as he entered, "Why can't you just go through with the surgery?"

"Why can't you just accept the fact that you need help?" Tori retorted, sitting on her bed.

"I'll admit, I do need help with things and just when I find one person that I'm really ready to let help me, I find out she's going to die soon."

Tori stared on, shifting uncomfortably on the bed.

**A/N: Hey everyone, how was that chapter eh? Any good? Please leave me a review with your thoughts, I really would like them. I will have the next chapter up in a couple of days, hopefully. In the mean time, please review, that'll push me to keep writing. Take care!**


	11. Trying To Start Over

_**Chapter 11**_

"I screwed up big time huh?"

"What do you think?"

"There's nothing I can do now, Kai. What do you want me to say?" Tori asked in a pleading voice.

"Say you'll go through with that operation!"

Tori's breath caught in her throat and she stared at the ground again, tears almost slipping from her eyes, "I…"

"Just save it. I give up anyway." Kai turned to open the door and walk out but Tori shot off the bed and grabbed his arm, pulling him round into a hug. Kai shoved her off, pushing her onto her bed as he turned and left. Tori opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling, wincing as she heard the front door slam shut and the others running over to where she now lay.

"Hey, what happened?" Tyson asked, about to help Tori sit up, being interrupted when Denzelle appeared by Tori on the bed.

"Mistress, are you ok?" Denzelle whispered worriedly.

"I screwed up." Tori whispered back, keeping her eyes set on the same mark on the ceiling.

"What happened?" Ray asked her.

Denzelle looked down at her Mistress, understanding what she had to do, she ushered the others out of the room and with one last cast look at Tori on the bed, she left. "Aren't you going to tell us what's going on?" Tyson asked, watching as Denzelle got ready to walk out of the apartment.

"Kai got a bit close to Tori these last few days and now he's upset she's dieing."

"There's nothing Tori can do about it, he shouldn't be so upset." Max said. "I mean…we're all upset but there's nothing we can really do apart from let her enjoy the time she has, right?"

"He's probably mad that she got him to open up when she was just going to leave him, Max." Ray suggested.

"Yeah that's about it." Denzelle said, opening the door, "I'll be back soon." She added, leaving the room in a rush. She ran down the street in hopes of finding Kai before anything bad could happen to him that late. It's not that she didn't have faith in him; she knew he could take care of himself well enough but she just didn't trust him enough not to do anything stupid after what had happened. She ran into a park where she could have swore he had went to, sensing Dranzer with him somewhere but not being able to see him. "Leave me alone." Kai's voice called out.

Denzelle's head shot to the top of the tree where she heard the voice coming from. Kai sat there on a branch, leaning against the trunk of the tree as he stared up at the night sky through the leaves of the tree. "What are you doing up there?" Denzelle asked.

"I said leave me alone."

"Yeah. I heard you, doesn't mean I'm leaving. Now, you could either come down here or I could come up there." Denzelle yelled threateningly. Kai didn't make any move from where he sat and Denzelle sighed, "I'm really not sure if you're stubborn, stupid or stubbornly stupid." She commented, grabbing onto a tree branch below the one Kai was on. "What's wrong?" she asked, sitting on the branch.

"What do you think?!"

"Ok, I get it." Denzelle whispered, "You're upset that my Mistress has to die."

"And you figured that part out now?"

"No I haven't. I understand that it's painful, I know, I'm having a hard time trying to deal with it myself."

That one comment caught Kai's attention and he looked down at Denzelle who sadly stared at the ground beneath them as she swung her legs.

"I've tried for so long to convince her to undergo the surgery but she sticks by her decisions."

"Apparently."

"It's not easy for her."

"How the hell does she think I feel?!"

"I was talking about you too. She feels horrible that you feel so bad about her dieing and that it's ending like this." Denzelle started. She turned a little and looked up at him, "She doesn't want the friendship to end like this but she can't do anything."

"I don't want to watch her die."

"Don't ruin what's left of the time; you'll regret it when she's gone." Denzelle said, pulling herself onto the branch Kai was on.

"I'm regretting a lot right now."

"Kai…please be careful."

"With what?! The damage's been done; I got close to her when I shouldn't have." Kai yelled angrily.

"You haven't been looking after yourself too well. You haven't been eating, you haven't been sleeping and all you've really done was stress yourself out with the things that are going on around you."

"So what?"

"So you should be careful and look after yourself more."

"I'm looking after myself just fine."

Denzelle placed a hand on his forearm, lifting his short sleeve over his shoulder seeing the deep and wide cuts over his shoulder blade, "Yeah, you've been taking great care of yourself." She said sarcastically.

Kai jerked his sleeve back down as much as it could go while Denzelle just sat close by. "Go back home."

"You're coming back with me, we're going to have those cuts cleaned up, we're going to get you something to eat and you're going to get some sleep." Denzelle told him as though he didn't have a choice. She took his hand and jumped onto the branch below the one they sat on as she pulled on Kai's arm for him to follow her. "Come on." She said quietly.

"Leave me alone." Kai pulled his hand out of hers.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself, Kai."

"Just give me a few minutes." Kai said quietly.

"Sure." Denzelle nodded, "No running away." She warned, jumping off the tree and walking to the park's front gate. Patiently she waited there, leaning against the gate for a few minutes, her heart beating fast while her hair tickled her neck as the wind played with it. _'Please listen to me Kai.' _

Kai showed up soon after though he didn't say a word and all that could be heard on the way back to the apartment was the wind blowing against them. They both arrived at the apartment and found the whole place quiet, seeing Tori peek out of her bedroom. "Hey." She said quietly.

"Hey, where are the others?" Denzelle asked, indicating to Kai for him to go wait for her in the living room.

"They went back to Tyson's; everyone was getting pretty tired so they decided to leave a little earlier than planned." Tori answered her, "Where have you two been?" she asked quietly.

"We had a talk in the park, it's no big deal but he's got a few cuts on his shoulders so I'll sort those out, you go back to getting some rest."

"How did he get the cuts?" Tori asked worriedly.

"They were self-inflicted like I thought."

Tori nodded slightly, "The first aid kit is in the bathroom." She told her, walking over to Kai in the living room. He sat alone on the sofa, staring down at his hands the whole time, only looking up at the person beside him when he felt someone sit so close to him. "You alright?" Tori asked carefully.

"I'm fine." Kai answered, trying so hard just to force a smile.

"That's good. Are you alright staying here for the night?"

"I should get back to the others."

"The others are probably asleep by now and it probably wouldn't be wise to wake any of them. You're welcome here, you know." Kai nodding slowly, they both smiled a little at each other, the first real small sign of friendship they'd shown each other in hours.

They're short moment was interrupted by a light crashing, glancing over to the hallway Denzelle had dropped the first aid kit and fallen on her hands and knees, white lights emitting from her hands. Tori walked over to the fallen bit-beast, stroked her hair softly for a moment, "I think it's you that needs your rest." She whispered in her ear, "Go." She ordered. Denzelle looked up at her, unsure on what to do next, "I'll take care of things here." She picked up the first aid kit and walked over to Kai.

In the mean time, Denzelle gave in and disappeared in her usual white light.

"What happened to her?" A hint of worry in Kai's voice.

"Nothing to worry about, I assure you."

"You also said something along those lines about yourself."

"Touché. Well bit-beasts aren't the types of beings to be walking around the planet all the time, after being out of her blade for too long Denzelle loses all her energy and gets tired. That's what just happened." Tori explained to him, giving him an honest smile when it looked like he didn't believe her. "So where are these cuts she was so worried about?" she asked.

Kai sighed, seemed like arguing with her was no use. Arguing wasn't going to make her health any better, it wouldn't get her to go through with the operation she needed and it would only stress him out more so with a quick breath he took off his jacket and showed her the cuts that covered his shoulders muscles and his left shoulder blade.

"Ouch, that looks like it's got to hurt." Tori said, seeing how wide those cuts actually were. "If…" she started cautiously, "…all you want to do is hurt yourself, why not clean these cuts up yourself afterwards?" she asked him.

Kai shrugged with no real answer to give her but with one glance at the look on Tori's face he answered with, "I guess…I just can't be bothered to."

"Well you should bother. This is your health after all."

"If I told you that you wouldn't care."

"I'm different though."

"Just get this over with."

Tori nodded and began to work on each cut, doing nothing more than cleaning up the little blood that seeped out, dried them and bandaged them up before they got infected, since, knowing Kai's luck and carelessness with the cuts, she was surprised the hadn't been infected yet and if she could stop that from happening, she would. What surprised her was as to how brave Kai actually was. He didn't seem phased at all by the sight of blood or by the pain when she cleaned the cuts, most people would complain the whole time but instead he just sat there and didn't utter a word and barely wince at the stinging of the antiseptic. "Is that any good?" she asked him when done.

"Yeah." He replied, his hand brushing over the soft cloth that covered his arm, "Thanks." He added quietly.

Tori nodded and smiled happily, she was glad she could get that much out of him, made her happy that she could do something right around him since according to him, the way he trained the team wasn't right either. "Do you need anything?" she asked.

"I'm ok."

"Aren't you hungry?" Tori asked, almost confusedly.

"No." Kai lied. Truthfully, he was starving but the uncomfortable nights he tended to go through didn't serve very well with food in his stomach so where he could avoid food, he did and only let himself have a small snack once in a while.

"Alright, well there's food pretty much everywhere you look in the kitchen so you can take something from there if you get hungry." Tori said, laughing a little as she stood up. "C'mon. You're room is this way." She pulled him up and led him to the room at the far end of the hall. "Bathroom is two doors down and my room is next door in case you need anything, alright?"

"Yeah." Kai replied, sitting down on the bed, feeling a little uneasy about all that was going on.

"Good night." Tori said happily, walking to her room and shutting the door behind her. She was happy, she had to admit that whatever Denzelle may have said it worked for her and Kai seemed to be acting at least a little bit better around her. Despite her happiness, concern for the loyal bit-beast could clearly be seen on her young features as she walked over to the beyblade that sat on her bedside table. "Denzelle…" she whispered.

Denzelle appeared in a white light, though this time lying on the ground on her side. The bit-beast looked a bit paler than usual, breathing rather heavily from the lack of energy to do anything at all. Tori sat down on the ground, rubbing the bit-beast's back soothingly as she whispered to her the whole time about how grateful she was for what she did for her though every time Denzelle tried to speak Tori stopped her, saying that she understood and that they could talk later. Tori had a unique relationship with her bit-beast, the bit-beast that was with her through thick and thin, the bit-beast who despite her worries for her Mistress, began to accept the decisions and fate that was dealt for her.

Denzelle went back into her blade and Tori got off the cold ground. She went into the bathroom and changed quickly for bed, in need for some rest and the warmth her body needed. Through her sleeping hours she thought of two people that she cared about the most, probably the two people that made her worry the most too.

**---2:00am---**

Tori woke up early that morning, finding that she was thirsty she got out of room and walked to the kitchen. Pouring herself a glass of water, from over the counter and through the small window that overlooked the living room she saw Kai quietly sitting on the sofa. Tori walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, settling onto the sofa next to Kai, "Why are you up?" she asked.

"Couldn't sleep." Came the quiet answer from the male teen.

"Could be an empty stomach."

"I really don't think that's it." Kai answered with a slight smirk on his face.

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing. It'll pass."

"Ok I guess. Just try to get some sleep but come wake me if you need anything." Tori said. When she didn't get an answer she just went back to the kitchen, topped up the water and took the glass to her bedroom. She placed the glass on her bedside table and she crawled back underneath the covers of her soft bed for some added warmth. "I hope he's alright." She whispered finally before sleeping again.

**---With Kai---**

He was lying back on the sofa, thinking back to see if he should get up and try to go get some sleep. He wanted to, he really did, he just didn't feel like getting off the sofa to go back to bed. Finally he got irritated trying to get himself up and tried to just get it over with, getting off the sofa quickly and quickly walking back to his room. Getting into bed, he just barely decided to cover himself from the cold, instead finding that his own head began to ache with painful memories and he buried his head under the soft pillow that was gripped in his hands.

**---Next Morning---**

Tori woke up at 5am and she quickly got out of bed to go make herself some breakfast. Her senses told her to just go back to sleep but she found she couldn't, instead being far too worried about Denzelle and the other blader sleeping in the next room. She walked up to Kai's room, opening the door and peeking inside to see if he was awake yet. He still had the pillow over his head and she wasn't sure if he was just trying to block the sunlight shining through his window or if he was actually trying to suffocate himself.

She stepped closer to him but paused when the pillow moved from Kai's face and he turned to look at her, "Oh, I'm sorry. Go back to sleep." She apologized, hurrying back out of the room. She closed the door behind her and sighed heavily, feeling quite like an idiot, especially for waking him. Though what also surprised her is that how alert Kai was, the night before when she went to the kitchen, she knew he had heard her when she opened her bedroom door, he just decided not to say anything. Even now, if he was asleep, how'd he react to her so quickly?

She heard Kai's bedroom door open again and Kai walked out, "Hey, if you want to go back to sleep you could you know." Tori told him.

Kai smirked and went into the living room, "Hardly slept all night, it wont make too much of a difference now."

"Then you wonder why I don't let you train with the others."

"Because I don't manage to sleep?"

"Yeah, can't have you passing out during training."

"Of course not, that's your job."

"Not sure if that was a joke or if you were being spiteful."

"A bit of both actually."

"Kai…"

"Don't worry, I get it."

'_Denzelle you have so much to teach me.' _Tori thought. "Now that's a sudden change of heart."

"I can't be mad forever."

"You want to test that?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow as she walked into the living room.

"I'd prefer it if I didn't because I think if given the chance I could be."

"Yeah, you probably could." Tori agreed, nodding. "So…" she started, staring at the ground, "do you mind if I give the others the day off?" she asked.

"How come?" Kai asked confusedly.

"I'd rather spend the day here…maybe we could just…hang out a little?" Tori started off, then asking as she bit down on her lip.

Kai's heart skipped a beat though all he could do was shrug in reply.

"Come on, you've got to have a better answer than that."

"Not really."

"You'll never change." Tori said, patting him on the back, "But that can be a good thing." She furthered, getting off the sofa. "Make yourself some breakfast." She called from her bedroom before shutting the door. She smiled happily, walking over to her beyblade and calling Denzelle out again. She appeared with her usual white light surrounding her, sitting on the end on the ground in front of Tori. "I hate it when you do that." Referring to Denzelle sitting on the ground. She placed her hands out in front of her and pulled her onto her feet, "Are you alright today?"

"Yeah, I'm doing alright. What about you?"

"I'm pretty great actually."

"Yeah so I've noticed." Denzelle said, nudging Tori slightly. "So should I take this little thing between you and Kai as a date?"

"Not really, it's just spending the day together."

"So it's a date."

"It's not."

"You can't deny the fact that you have feelings for the guy though."

"Isn't there some sort of bit-beast rule that the bit-beast can't tease the Mistress about this kind of stuff?"

"We have our respect towards our Masters and Mistress' but there is no such rule."

"No fair."

"Hey, we bit-beasts need some perks."

"Fair enough I guess." Tori said, picking up her clothes. "Hey, can you go check on Kai while I go have a shower."

"Sure." Denzelle said with a mischievous grin on her face as she went to walk out.

"You're walking on thin ice Denzelle." Tori called after her.

"That's ok, it's my element." The bit-beast said, peeking back into the room, winking and Tori before leaving again.

"Smart ass." Tori muttered jokingly, stepping into the bathroom.

Denzelle walked into the small living room, sitting down on the armchair in the corner. Kai was lying back on the sofa, his arm on the armrest as he held his head in his hands, "What you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Kai answered dully.

"Last time Tori told you that you said it was stupid."

"I'm a hypocrite so sue me."

"Do I sense some self-loath?" Denzelle asked casually.

Kai lowered his arms onto the armrest and rested his head on them, looking fed up and exhausted already. "Probably you do."

"Why are you like that with yourself then?"

"It's nothing."

"Yes, well, maybe you should talk to my Mistress about it."

"I'm not going to be doing something like that for a while."

"You should try to though, I'm sure that she could try to help."

"You can't help with something that's already happened."

"But maybe she could help with what's happening now."

"I doubt it."

"If you deny this and doubt that she could ever e able to help you, then you're just like her when it comes to the surgery."

"Only difference is that I may listen one day." Kai said calmly.

"Denzelle, leave Kai alone." Tori called from the kitchen.

Denzelle's eyes widened slightly, she stared at the ground for a moment then after giving Kai an apologetic look she disappeared.

"Sorry, I asked her to be good company not annoy you." Tori said, sitting down next to him. "You seem really upset." She pointed out.

"Don't worry."

"You must not know me very well because I always worry."

"I'm going to be fine." Kai told her, probably trying to convince her as much as himself.

"You promise?"

Kai paused for a moment, thinking about it hard before nodding in agreement, "I promise."

**A/N: How was that chapter?! I hope you're liking how this fic is turning out. Probably this is going to be one of the most emotional fics I've ever written and also the one that is the most friendship based out of all the things I've written. I'm not too sure when I'll have next chapter up since I start school tomorrow but I will try my hardest to get another chapter up as soon as I can. In the mean time, please review and tell me what you think!**

**Ja!**


	12. Cherry Blossom Storm

_**Chapter 12**_

Tori placed the cordless phone onto the table in the living room, jumping back onto the sofa next to Kai. "Well the others are taken care of." She informed happily.

"How disappointing." Kai said sarcastically.

""Yes, I can tell how disappointed you are."

Both teenagers laughed together. Tori smiling most of all, watching the smile on Kai's face, one he really didn't show that often. "So where do you want to go later?"

"Hey, you wanted to take the day off so you decide."

"I guess I didn't really think things through."

"I've noticed."

"Let's go for a short walk. Then we can make things up as we go along."

"Sounds good to me." Kai said with a slight shrug.

Tori smiled and shot up off the sofa, placing a hand out in front of him to help pull him up. Unfortunately he just brushed past her hand and walked past her. "Kai…" she whispered.

Kai turned back round and looked at her confusedly at hearing his name. "What?" he asked.

"You're doing it again." She replied with a smile, walking past him.

Kai groaned and walked behind her to leave the apartment. "Can't help it." He muttered.

"You have every right to be mad with me Kai but why ruin a friendship over things that I can't change?"

"I think…that even if there were a short percentage of it working, I think I'd do it anyway."

"Would you really?" Tori asked, a disbelieving look on her face as they walked through the streets.

"This isn't about me." Kai reminded her, "I'm different."

"Life is life, Kai. It's all the same." Tori told him.

"It's different with me though."

"How?" Tori asked, sneaking her hand into his.

"Let's just not get into that." Kai replied. He felt Tori's hand go limp in his and he took a short glance at her, seeing her worried gaze fixed onto the ground beneath them as they walked on ahead. He squeezed her hand supportively, that's all he needed to do to get her to stop worrying for a moment and he knew it because next second she was smiling again and looked in front of her instead of at the ground.

In the little time they knew each other, or more precisely, in the little time they got along they suddenly learnt how to comfort each other. Not that they had had that much practice at it but Kai still knew that even the little things seemed to comfort her even when she was worrying out of her mind about him. They started off as what looked like worst enemies but now they're acting like closest friends. Kai couldn't even understand why she was being so kind to him; after all, he did treat her like dirt for a long time.

Even the first time they came across each other, he didn't even know her, he knew nothing about her and he treated her like dirt but there she was walking a long the streets with him, worrying about him and holding his hand no less. It all just made no sense to him. Then again, not many things about the girl in general made any sense to him but that was besides his point. The point was that he had gotten really attached to her in a short period of time, now she's got 5 months left to live and he was there feeling horrible because he knows he's about to lose a good friend, as though he'd known her his whole life.

Then again, if he had known her his whole life than maybe his life would have turned out even the slightest bit better. Every little helped, where he could repair the damage in his life he would every chance he got. Unfortunately that kind of chance doesn't come every day but now a chance was here but he was scared of it. He had to admit that much, at least to himself.

"You alright?" Tori asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure. Why?" Kai asked, looking down at her.

"You're really quiet."

"Well what else is new?" Kai asked her.

Tori laughed at that, he was right after all. It's not like he always spoke but spacing out was different and she could tell that he had been thinking. "You thinking about much?" she asked.

"Nothing in particular. Why the sudden curiosity?"

"Just asking that's all."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Though satisfaction brought it back." Tori retorted with a laugh.

Kai groaned and rolled his eyes, "I just can't win with you."

"Wow I must really be good then."

"Don't go getting a big head over that."

"I wouldn't try, I'm sure there's a ton of stuff you can do better than me."

"You got that right."

"Now look who's the one with the big head." Tori laughed. Unfortunately her laughed quickly subsided this time, pain seared through her skull and she could barely hear through the ringing in her ears. She fell on her hands and knees, eyes blank as she moved herself to sit against a wall.

Kai knelt down in front of her, trying hard to get through to her but finding she couldn't hear a word he was saying. He held her up by her shoulders, being sure not to put too much pressure on them at the same time, in fear of hurting her anymore. Sitting there he didn't know what he could really do, so he tried to calm down and waited a moment to see if any of her pain had stopped yet.

Tears almost started welling up in Tori's eyes but she suppressed them as best she could at the time. Sub consciously her left hand moved to the back of her head where the core of the pain was. Luckily for her she gained her hearing back soon enough and the pain followed by slowly stopping. "Are you alright?" Kai asked urgently.

Tori smiled slightly but in an attempt to nod she collapsed into Kai's arms. Kai took a deep breath; he just couldn't understand how he got into the mess in the first place.

**---Later---**

Tori lay on the stone wall by the beach, she was still unconscious but she seemed peaceful and not in any pain. Kai, in the meantime, was by the water doing nothing more than picking up pebbles and throwing them across the water. He didn't have anything to do or anyone to talk to in the time that Tori was unconscious and he didn't feel like going back to the apartment just yet. Denzelle had offered countless times to stay with him but he refused each time, saying that she needed to keep Tori safe and that he didn't want Denzelle to get hurt after spending too much time out of her blade.

He'd been waiting for Tori to wake up for about an hour or so and in that time he grew even more tired and weak. Sighing he turned back to where Tori lay resting, he sat on the wall, silently he began hoping that she was alright. "Damn it, at this rate will she ever wake up?" Kai muttered to himself, frustrated with worry.

As if on queue Tori's eyes fluttered open, shutting quickly due to the sudden burst of light that shone into the sensitive eyes. She sat up, opening her eyes again before looking up at Kai and smiling. "Thanks." She whispered.

"I did nothing."

"I know better." Tori told him, smiling more with that comment.

"How are you feeling?" Kai tried to change subject off of him.

"I'm fine now." Tori answered honestly, "What about you though? You aren't looking too well."

"I'm ok, don't worry."

"Come on; let's go get something to eat." Tori said, pulling on his hands as she jumped off the wall.

"I'm not hungry." Kai answered, not budging from where he sat.

"But I am so let's go." Tori said, pulling him again. This time Kai did as she asked, jumped off the wall and followed her to the small café that was across the street. Soon Tori had ordered herself a small piece of apple pie and a glass of water. Kai just sat across from her, his hands wrapped around a mug of hot coffee. "So how come you aren't eating?" Tori asked quietly.

"Let's not get into that again, it's no big deal."

"If it's no big deal then you wouldn't mind telling me." Tori said wisely. Kai just didn't look at her, nor reply. He just sat there staring at his coffee with nothing to say to the young girl in front of him. "Kai, just tell me already." She continued persisting.

"I feel sick when I eat." Kai muttered.

"What?" Tori asked, not quite hearing him.

"Doesn't take a genius to realize that I don't sleep well at night."

"Yeah, I guessed that far. What's that got to do with your eating?"

"If I can't sleep I feel sick, throw up everything I would have eaten throughout the day and that only makes me feel even worse after I'm done so I figured that if I didn't eat then I wouldn't have to deal with it at night."

"Kai…" Tori started, sadness filling her quiet voice.

"You don't need to say anything you know."

"Maybe it does help you for now but you can't keep this up for too long."

"I know, I'm working on it."

"Well…not sure if you already know this but my parents are both doctors. My mom is an expert on nutrition, maybe I could ask her for some advice. Maybe she can suggest something to do so that you could eat but keep down your food."

"You don't need to do that."

"If it could help then I want to." Tori said. By now she had totally abandoned her apple pie and all she could focus on was on trying to get Kai to believe she could help. He wouldn't have told her anything if a part of him didn't believe that she could somehow in someway help him but he still had his stubbornness and she wanted to get past that.

"Don't go through any trouble."

"It won't be. I talk to my parents every couple of days anyway, mom won't mind me asking."

Kai nodded in thanks, only raising his eyes to look at her for moment before turning back to stare at his coffee again.

"Hey Kai…" Tori called quietly. Kai looked up at her; she held her fork out with a bit of apple pie so that he could take it. He shook his head quickly and sat back in his chair, "One little piece won't kill you."

"I never said it would but I did say food makes me sick."

"Yeah I know but you can't go the rest of the day with absolutely nothing." Tori pointed out.

"I don't like apples." Kai said, coming up with a quick excuse.

"Liar, you ate an apple right in front of me about a week ago."

"You and your damn memory." Kai muttered.

"Please." Tori begged, pouting adorably.

"No."

Tori sighed; still pouting she took the last bit of apple pie, seeing that no matter how much she convinced Kai he wasn't going to eat anything.

**---About an hour later---**

Tori ran energetically down the street while Kai was the opposite, he was exhausted and was walking slowly but still trying to keep up with the suddenly hyper Tori. Tori stopped quickly and pulled out her phone that vibrated in her jacket pocket. "Finally she stopped." Kai muttered, catching up to her. "You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." Tori said, a confused look on her face as she read over the text she got.

"What's up?" Kai asked, looking over her shoulder at the text.

"A co-worker told me to get to the café, though I'm not supposed to be working this week and she didn't say what she wanted."

"Well we could always go to the café and see what she wants."

"Yeah, I just hope she doesn't want me to work." Tori said, walking on ahead a bit disappointed now. The café was only a few blocks away and they arrived there in a matter of minutes, "Hey Mel, what did you want?" Tori asked the girl behind the counter.

The blonde rushed out from behind the counter, eyes narrowing slightly, "You'd think you would have told me but no, I had to hear it from my grandmother."

Tori stepped back a little, almost afraid of the other girl. Had she found out that she was going to die?

"My grandmother was in the hospital and told me that you where _singing_ in the children's ward! _Singing!_"

Tori smiled slightly, letting out a sigh of relief, "It slipped my mind?" she tried.

"But a couple of weeks ago, when the band cancelled on us you could have done something."

"I wasn't feeling well." Tori lied. Her plan, lie, deny everything until proven guilty.

"Well how are you now?" Mel asked with a smile.

"I'm fine."

"Good. The lead singer of the band this week has come down with the flu and cancelled today's show so you're up."

Tori's eyes widened at that, feeling even worse when she heard Kai laughing a bit from behind her. "What?!"

"You have half an hour to prepare." Mel called as she walked back behind the counter.

Tori turned round to look at Kai, seeing him sitting at a table close by, still with a smile on his face. "This isn't funny."

"From where I'm sitting it is."

Tori sat down opposite him, resting her head in her hands, "What am I going to do?" she asked.

"Try this genius, how about you sing and get it over with?"

"I'm so screwed."

"What's so bad? I've heard you sing before and you're really not that bad."

"I can't believe she's making me do this."

"Yes well you're going to do it, you're going to go up there and sing and I'm going to sit here and watch you."

"You're so comforting." Tori said sarcastically. "I'm going to go talk to her about this, maybe next time you see me I'll be dieing on that stage." She said, indicating to the stage as she got up.

"You're joking on the dieing part right?"

"Yeah." Tori said with a smile, turning and walking over to the back room. _'I hope.'_ Sitting in the back room she sighed, swinging her legs impatiently. Mel peeked her head into the room with a mischievous smile on her face, "You're up." She called.

"I'm going to kill you one day." Tori threatened, walking past her.

"Ok, do that after you perform please." Mel said happily.

Tori took a shaky breath and got onto the stage, shifting uncomfortably when he saw Kai there, to make it worse, a particular tiger bit-beast was there too. Denzelle waved at her but quickly stopped because if looks could kill she would have been a goner with the glare that Tori shot at her. Tori picked up the microphone and nodded towards Mel to start up the music. The music started up and Tori bit down hard on her bottom lip till it came her time to start singing,

"Hin'yari hanabira wo nigirishimeteru  
Eien ga tsuzuku you na kumo no kirema  
Mieta ki ga shita no

Futatsu no yume  
Fureru yubisaki  
Namida mau haru no hi  
Riyuu nanka mitsukaranai  
Sugu tachidomaru  
Tsuyoku nareru no?  
Itsuka wa

Zutto sagasu shiroi tenshi no sugata  
Kitto futte kuru  
Atarashii watashi kureru hane

Kazahana tsuretette maboroshi no EDEN made  
Koko de nara sukoshi dake wa  
Sunao ni nareru ka mo ne

Kami-sama nante inai  
Dakedo dareka shinjitai  
Ima wa mada otona ni naritakunai  
Sakura fubuki hisoka ni

Murasaki RAIRAKKU kaoru koro ni wa  
Tooi yuki no kioku wa  
Massara ni sarasara nagareteku

Zutto ou wa  
Kono fukai mori no mukou  
Kitto matte iru  
Issho ni aruite kureru hito

Toori ame yo yande  
Yozora ga mite mitai no  
Koko de nara toki ga tomaru  
Shoujo no mama de itai

Kami-sama nante inai  
Dakedo nanika shinjitai  
Sonna koto omou  
Oborozuki yo  
Sakura fubuki toketeku"

At this point the music slowed down just a bit and Tori stood there till she had to continue. For no real reason tears began to well up in her eyes and when she began to sing again they started slowly slipping.

"Kami-sama nante inai  
Dakedo dareka shinjitai  
Ima wa mada toki wo tomete  
Otona ni narenai kara

Kamisama nante inai  
Dakedo nanika shinjitai  
Sonna koto omou  
Oborozukiyo  
Sakura fubuki toketeku."

Tori switched off the microphone and put it back on the stand before jumping off the stage. "That any good for you?" she asked Mel, through the applause of the small audience. Mel didn't answer and Tori smiled, "Have a nice day." She said before walking to the door. Kai and Denzelle followed behind her, Denzelle disappeared and went back into her blade.

"Why the hell where you so worried? You did fine."

"I just don't like audiences."

"So you're shy?" Kai asked, a bit of disbelief in his voice.

"For lack of a better word, yes." Tori admitted.

"Now that's new."

"Why are you suddenly such a jerk?" Tori asked.

"I'm a jerk because I'm having fun?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

Tori pouted and crossed her arms, almost hating to admit it she had to agree with Denzelle when she interrupted and said she looked like a spoilt brat like that. "Having fun doesn't mean you have to take the Mickey out of me."

"You know I'm only joking."

"So? You still shouldn't be so mean to me you know."

"Hey, what are we doing here again?" Kai asked, realizing when Tori stopped that he'd followed her all the way to the beach again.

"I just love it over here." Tori replied quietly.

Kai didn't reply to that, instead he sighed and sat down on the stone wall. He sat there for a moment, his head resting in his hands and because of the heaviness, he didn't hear nor see the auburn-haired girl sit next to him on the wall. She wrapped her arms around him, which certainly startled him at first but he quickly gave in to it, seeing she wouldn't do him any harm.

Tori rested her chin on his shoulder and whispered a quiet 'thank you' in his ear. "I know you aren't well, that's why I told you thank you now so that you don't have any energy to argue." She joked quietly.

"Unfortunately for me…you're right." Kai told her.

"Yes well I didn't want to be right, Kai. Are you sure you don't want me to go get you something to eat?"

"I'm sure. Don't worry, it'll pass in a few minutes."

"I'll hold you to that." Tori whispered, pulling away from him. Kai got off the stone wall and walked towards the water and stood there for a while, watching all the colours from the sunset shine over the dark sea before him. He was already starting to feel better, just like he had promised Tori but when he took a deep breath it was rather shaky and all he focused on was keeping his mind clear. "Kai…" Tori said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"How are you?"

"I'm feeling better." Came Kai's honest reply.

"That's good." Tori said. When Kai couldn't see her, she smiled almost evily and glanced at Denzelle that stood beside her. The two stood behind Kai and without Kai even knowing what the two where planning, they shoved him into the cold water. Denzelle disappeared in the blink of an eye to keep herself out of Kai's reach but Tori couldn't do anything more than stand there laughing. Kai looked up at her, quickly standing up he ran after her across the beach. Finally he caught her by her belt and from there he tossed her into the deep water.

Tori resurfaced, coughing up the salty water. She smiled and swam towards Kai, "Watch your back, Kai." Tori called.

Of course, Kai thought she was telling him to be careful of her but in actual fact, she was warning him about what was now behind him. Denzelle sneaked up on him and with a wave of her hand Kai fell in the water again. Kai tried to stand up in the water and both girls splashed more water in his face till Denzelle disappeared and Tori got tired out. "That…wasn't fair, two against one." Kai said through breaths as he walked back to the beach and sat on the sand.

"It was fun though and I got to pay you back for laughing at me." Tori said, falling onto the ground next to him.

"Yeah it was fun, I'll admit that much but now I'm exhausted."

"Yeah and my head is throbbing."

"You're alright though, right?" Kai asked, sitting up and looking at her.

"I'm fine." Tori replied, smiling up at Kai. "It's 9:00pm already you know, we should get you back to the Dojo." She said, getting off the wet sand.

Kai got off the ground too and followed Tori to the Dojo. _'Someone's in a good mood.' _Dranzer pointed out.

'_Is it that obvious?' _

'_Quite obvious, Master.'_

'_I can't help it.'_

'_Yes I know. It's good that you had an enjoyable day, it's done you a lot of good to relax for once and I don't think I've ever seen you so happy. Well I have but not in a long time.'_

'_It feels great not to be so uptight for once.' _Kai said, _'Hey Dranzer…do you think she'd be able to help at all?'_ he asked carefully.

'_You can always give her the fair chance she needs but I have complete faith in her.'_

'_Yeah.' _

The walk to the Dojo was quiet from then on, Tori sometimes talking to him which led to laughs and smiles from the both of them. Needless to say they were on better terms with each other now, both just hoped that they could keep it that way. They're time alone was ended when they arrived in Tyson's yard where the others sat on the porch talking. "Hey guys." Tori greeted happily.

"Hey."

"Hey, why are you two soaked?" Tyson asked.

"Tori and Denzelle decided to push me into the sea."

"And then Kai paid me back by throwing me in." Tori added, sitting on the porch with the rest of the group.

"How nice of him." Max said sarcastically with a grin.

Tori smiled, glancing up at Kai, "Yeah, I thought so too."

"I'm going to go dry off." Kai said coldly, walking past the group and up to his room.

"So you guys had a nice day?" Tori asked.

"We didn't do much."

"Yeah but it was great as long as we didn't have training."

Tori nodded, smiling more. Soon her smile faded a little though and she looked up at them, "And…you guys are ok with what's going to happen?" she asked quietly.

All their looks saddened at the reminder of that and neither of them spoke up, except for Ray when he realized that no one else was going to say anything. "Well there's nothing we could do right? So we're just all going to have to deal with it sooner or later."

"And we promised ourselves we're going to try to be strong, it's not going to be easy but we can try." Max added.

Tyson nodded in agreement and was next to speak, "We already know what we're getting into. It's painful to know that we're going to lose you but there's nothing we can really do is there?"

"No."

"So we're going to stick around this whole time and be there for you, then we're there for each other when the worst happens."

Tori smiled, "You guys are really great friends, to me and each other. I'm really glad to have met all of you." She said honestly.

"Aw, don't start with that, now you're going to make us cry." Max said, wiping away the tears that had welled up in his own eyes.

"I don't mean to, Maxie, I promise." Tori said, wrapping an arm over his shoulders. "I'm just going to go run up to talk to Kai and I'll have to go before I catch a cold." She said with a light laugh.

"Sure."

Tori went inside and ran up the stairs, she knocked lightly on Kai's bedroom door and heard a quiet 'come in' she stepped inside. There she saw Kai lying on his bed, his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. "Hey, you alright?" Tori asked, leaning against the door as she shut it behind her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kai replied, taking a quick glance at her.

"Shouldn't you go change?" Tori asked.

"Shouldn't you?"

"I'm going home soon. I just thought I'd check on you before I left."

Kai sat up and smiled just a little bit at her, "I'm fine. Now go before you get sick." He ordered.

Tori smiled wider and walked up to him, she gave him a quick hug before turning to leave the room. "Thanks for the day, Kai."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Kai asked.

"I'm not going anywhere just yet." Tori said before leaving.

"Good, 'cause I don't want you to." Kai whispered, staring at the ground.

**---Later That Night---**

Tori lay on her side on the large sofa in her living room, the cordless phone to her ear. She had been on the phone with her mother for about an hour or so already. Tori loved her mother, that she did but she was really eager to get off the phone so she could go tell Kai what her mom suggested. Her mom's suggestion seemed to make enough sense, which actually confused her as to why her nor Kai had thought of it before. Thankfully for her the phone conversation soon ended and Tori hung up and left the phone on the sofa. She jumped on her bed and her hand grabbed her phone that was sitting on her bedside table.

**A/N: This is probably my longest chapter of this fic yet, its over almost 5000 words long, my reason for this length? Because I've got exams soon and I can only update on weekends so I made the chapter longer than usual. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, I really need opinions on how this fic is turning out. **

**Now in this chapter there was a song in Japanese. The song is called 'Sakura Fubuki' by Keiko Kitagawa. In English 'Sakura Fubuki' means 'Cherry Blossom Storm' and here are the translated lyrics to the song:**

_**Grasping the cool flower petals tightly  
I felt as if I saw a break in the clouds  
Going on forever **_

_**Two dreams  
Touching fingertips  
Dancing tears on that spring day  
I can't find any reason  
Soon they will come to a stop  
Can I become strong  
Someday? **_

_**I'll search forever for the sight of a white angel  
I know they will fall  
Wings that will bring a new me **_

_**Take the snowflakes on the wind to the illusory Eden  
If I'm here, perhaps I can become accepting  
If just a little **_

**_There's no such thing as a God  
But I want to believe in someone  
Now still I don't want to grow up  
A cherry blossom storm secretly _**

_**Back when I smelled purple lilacs  
Memories of distant snow  
Smoothly covering the ground **_

_**I'll chase forever  
Beyond this deep forest  
I know someone's waiting  
The one who will walk along with me **_

_**Stop, distant rain  
I want to see the night sky  
If I'm here, time will stop  
I want to stay a young girl **_

**_There's no such thing as a God  
But I want to believe in something  
That is what I think  
On this cloudy moonlit night  
A cherry blossom storm dissipates _**

**_There's no such thing as a God  
But I want to believe in someone  
Now still keep time at a stop  
Because I can't grow up _**

**_There's no such thing as a God  
But I want to believe in something  
That is what I think  
On this cloudy moonlit night  
A cherry blossom storm dissipates _**

**It's a really nice song in my opinion and just had to choose it for this chapter. Like I said, please please please review because I really want an opinion on this chapter. Please be patient with me and wait till next weekend for the next chapter, its not my fault that I can't update quicker, blame school and exams. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**


	13. I've Got Venus Over My Shoulder

_**Chapter 13**_

'**_Spoke to my mom when I got home and got to ask her bout what we were talking about earlier. She said you should get it checked out, I knew she'd say that but I asked her what you should do ASIDE from go to a doctor about it and she said you should just take a big breakfast and something lighter for lunch but don't eat in the night. It should work._**' Tori sent the text quickly, eager to get the news to Kai.

'**_That wouldn't work too well' _**Was Kai's answer.

'_**Well you aren't going to know until you try it so tomorrow give it a shot and see how it works out.'**_

'**_Do I have to?' _**Tori sighed at that text but smirked quickly as she hit reply.

'_**Please…for me.'**_

'_**That doesn't work for everything you know?'**_

'_**I thought I'd give it a shot.' Tori replied.**_

'_**Let the record show that I'm not agreeing to this thing just because you're playing the 'for me' game but because I'm willing to try anything right about now.' **_

'_**That means you'll try it out?' **_

'**_Where you not reading what I just wrote?'_**

'**_Thanks, Kai!' _**Tori exclaimed happily.

'_**Whatever. Don't look anything into it'**_

'**_Well shouldn't you be going to get some sleep? You had a pretty rough day, you got tired really easily so maybe some sleep will do you some good.'_** Tori began to suggest. Quietly she hoped that he would listen to her, that maybe now that he trusted her just a little bit more that maybe he'd let her get a little closer to him.

'_**I'm just going to stay awake for the night.'**_

'_**How come honey?'**_

'_**Doesn't matter, don't worry about it anyway.'**_

Tori sighed and got under the covers of her warm bed. She turned onto her stomach and typed over her pillow as she supported herself with her arms, **_'You're asking me not to worry about something I'm clearly going to worry about.'_**

'_**Don't! You shouldn't be bothered by this'**_

'_**How can you say that? You're not eating and you're not sleeping either, which isn't right at all.'**_

'_**I don't care.'**_

'_**But I do, so please, go get some sleep.'**_

'_**Not tonight.'**_

'_This is only getting harder and harder to deal with him, he isn't listening to me.'_ Tori thought, frustrated. **_'Why the hell not?' _**she texted back.

'_**I'm not up to it. Is that so wrong?'**_

'_**It is when you could get yourself really hurt because of it.'**_

'_**I don't care that much anymore, don't you realize that?'**_

This took Tori aback a little. She lay there staring at those words till she shook her head when she came back to her senses and needed to reply, **_'If you didn't care then you wouldn't have told me anything.'_**

'_**Shut up.'**_

'**_Kai, learn to relax. Go get some sleep, if you need anything you can always go to your friends, they're just down the hall and if you can't talk to them then you can text me.'_** Tori closed her phone and tucked it under her pillow and rested her head on the pillow for a while. She was waiting patiently for her phone to ring and vibrate in her hand but it didn't happen for about half an hour, jolting her out of her light sleep.

'**_That won't be necessary but fine, I'll sleep, not guaranteeing anything though.'_**

'_**All I ask is that you try to, Kai. That's all.'**_

'_**Whatever. Night.'**_

'**_Good night, Kai.'_** With that last text Tori shut her phone again and placed it on her bedside table. She rested back onto her pillow, rubbing the sleep that was now in her eyes. Turning onto her side she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in a couple of minutes.

**---With Kai---**

The Russian boy stood in his bathroom, punching the wall hard constantly, the tears that stung his eyes keeping him from seeing where he was punching. _'Why this again? Why this all over again? Why'd I have to go say that? Why'd I have to be so stupid?' _Thoughts ran over each other in Kai's mind, each question making one more bruise on his fists. All he could think about was how he spoke to Tori. He admitted, that he didn't entirely regret it, that in a way it was a good thing but now she was more careful with him. She wanted him to go get some sleep; he said he would when he knew full well that there was nothing he could really do to get himself to go rest.

He turned weakly, his back against the wall as he slid down onto the ground. Drawing his knees up to his chest, he rested his arms on his knees with his head on them for support. His hands went freezing cold and numb, light trickles of blood seeping out of his pure white skin. _'After this, she's got to help.' _Kai thought, his mind's voice at it's weakest as exhaustion and pain shone right through it. Getting back off the ground he walked into his room, collapsing onto his bed with exhaustion.

'_Master…I'm sure she can help, just give her a chance and listen to what she advises you.'_

'_This had better be worth it.' _Kai thought. Finally with that he fell asleep, the beating he had taken in being the one thing that pushed him to finally get some sleep. It was all he could do to himself to assure that he got some rest that night, the only way he could do as Tori had asked.

**---Next Day---**

Tori woke up late, twelve minutes past midday to be precise. She woke up calmly, thankfully waking up with no pain after her late night felt great to her. She went for a nice warm shower and then quickly made her way to Tyson's Dojo where the others should have been waiting. "Hey, guys." Tori greeted, entering the kitchen where everyone was.

"About time you got here." Max said with a laugh.

Tori smiled at that, "Yeah, sorry. I slept in again."

"Don't worry about it. Kai gave us the day off anyway."

"What?" Tori asked quietly, confusion emitting through her voice.

"Yeah, this morning when I was making breakfast, he came down here and said we had the day off." Ray answered her.

"Oh, alright. Well where is he now?" Tori asked him, staying in her place by the door.

"In his room, last I saw him."

Tori nodded and walked up the stairs and to Kai's room. Knocking lightly on his bedroom door, she didn't get an answer and she stepped inside the room without permission. She saw Kai sitting there on the edge of his bed. She bit her lip before carefully walking up to him and sitting beside him, "Why…Why'd you cancel training?" she asked quietly.

"Not up to it."

Tori smiled, closing her eyes for only a second before looking at him, "That's why I'm here, Kai. I can give you a break so when you're not up to training I look out for the others while you can relax a little."

"But that doesn't feel right to me."

Tori pulled an arm over his shoulders with that, a smile still playing at her lips, "Because you don't relax too often, which you should do a little more." Being so close to him she noticed something. "Kai…you're…"

"Burning up?" Kai interrupted. He nodded, "Yeah I know." He answered himself.

Tori got off the bed and walked into the bathroom. Rinsing a cloth with cold water, she was about to walk back out of the bathroom but her eyes caught on the small red stains that covered the white tiled walls by the door. She shut her eyes, a quiet sigh escaping her before she walked back to Kai. She sat by him again and dabbed the cool cloth against his forehead despite that he'd constantly flinch and move away. After a few minutes of that she stared down at Kai's hands, her fingers finding their way through his gloved ones, feeling his hands shake slightly beneath hers. "You hurt yourself?" Tori asked quietly, careful on the subject.

"Drop it." Kai whispered in a warning tone.

"Just tell me." Tori encouraged.

"What difference does it make to you? All you need to do is answer that and I'll tell you!" Kai lashed out, getting away from her. He went into his bathroom, leaning against the sink as he stared into the mirror.

"Kai, you're my friend, whether you think so or not. All I want to do is help you, find a way so that maybe I can make you feel better." Tori answered softly, standing up. She walked to the bathroom door, leaning against the door frame.

"You don't know a thing about me."

"How can I if you don't let me?" Tori asked him hurriedly. "And what difference should that make to me? It doesn't make you any less of a friend to me, I may know a little but the little I do know should count for something. Now…I answered your question so answer mine."

Kai gritted his teeth at that. He took his hands off the sink and pulled quickly and both of his black gloves tossing them onto the sink and placed his hands back onto the white sink.

Tori's eyes widened at the sight of it, light dizziness already coming over her from just that. She gripped the sink to keep herself from falling over, her eyes fixed on his hands. The skin was littered with bruises, small cuts on there too, like he had beaten up himself up to the max. "Why'd you do that?" She asked quietly.

"Couldn't sleep."

"So you decided to bash your fists into the wall?"

"Do you have to question everything?!" Kai asked.

"I'm sorry but I just can't help but worry."

"You shouldn't."

Tori turned and walked into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed while staring at the ground. Her eyes never left the ground as she kept on like that and she never said a word. Kai turned to look at her, crossing his arms as he leaned on his side in the doorway of the bathroom. "Why do you?" he asked her.

"Why shouldn't I? You're my friend aren't you?" Tori answered with more questions, looking up at him.

"I don't make a good friend, at all."

"That's your opinion on things. In my opinion you're a great friend, a great friend to me when you want to be."

"As if." Kai whispered, sitting on the floor against the wall.

"I mean it Kai. I'm going to be the first to admit that I don't know a lot about you but I know that you are a really nice person, you just got to show that to the people who can't see it so easily."

Kai didn't answer her; he just sat there, staring at the ground with no words to say to the younger girl. Tori got off the bed and crawled over to Kai, sitting down next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Go back downstairs." He ordered her.

"No. I'm staying here with you." Tori whispered. She took his hand in hers, stroking the centre of his palm gently, "I'm not leaving you alone." She added.

"Stupid girl." Kai muttered, smirking slightly.

"Probably so." Tori smiled, squeezing his hand. "Did you have anything for breakfast?" she asked after a while.

"No." Kai replied quietly.

"Let's go get you something to eat then." Tori stood up, pulling on his hand. Kai didn't move, staying on the ground, leaving her to pull on his reddening hand. "Kai…this time you're eating. C'mon."

Kai sighed, pulling back his hand to help himself off the ground. "Do I have to?" he asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at him as she opened the door.

"Don't bother, I know the answer." Kai said walking out of the room and down the stairs.

"Good." Tori whispered. She closed the door behind her as she followed him down the stairs, "Go eat, I'll wait for you outside." She ordered, walking out onto the porch. "Hey," She turned back to him, just before he entered the kitchen, "Ray is in there, I'll ask him if you ate so there's no stalling." She warned. Kai nodded and went into the kitchen out of Tori's sight.

Tori sat on the porch, launching her blade in front of her, for no real reason but to watch it spin. _'You think he's going to be alright?' _Tori asked Denzelle after a while.

'_I think you may be managing to help him. You are trying to help but not pushing him into the deep end, which may just make things worse. I think with a bit more time he will co-operate fully.' _Denzelle replied, her usual wisdom in her voice along with some happiness.

'_Yeah, probably you're right. I just feel bad that I'm pushing him so much, even if it's a little bit, I still don't like it.'_

'_You're sensitive about this, I know but you're doing fine so far so just keep this up and I'm sure things will be fine in the end.'_

Tori nodded, smiling happily, _'Yeah, they probably will be.'_

"Hey, Tori." Max said, sitting down beside her.

"Hey, Maxie. How are you?"

"I'm good thanks. How about you?"

"I'm alright." Tori said, nodding with her sweet supportive smile.

"You're feeling ok?"

"Maxie, don't get all worried." Tori said.

"I'm just checking."

Tori smiled, a hand being placed on his back, "You don't need to do that. I have time and I know how to take care of myself."

"But…"

"But I will still come to you guys for help if I need it." Tori interrupted, silencing him.

"Good." Max smiled happily, "So what did you say to Kai?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"He's in the kitchen making himself something to eat."

"Oh well I didn't say much."

"It's been ages since I've seen him eat though."

"Yeah, I know but if he's eating now, must mean that he's feeling better. Just give him some space, he should be feeling better."

"Is that why you haven't been letting him train with us? Because you don't think he's been looking after himself well enough?" Max asked her.

Tori sighed and stared at the ground again, "Yeah, probably is. All I want to do is look out for him; I don't want him getting hurt just because he thinks he's strong enough by himself."

"None of us want to see him hurt but I guess we've just given up on trying to get through to him." Max admitted, "But even then, we're not turning our backs on him."

"I know, none of you are but all I need is a chance and I think I can get through to him."

"Maybe you can, till then the others and I are behind you all the way."

Tori smiled, suddenly feeling extremely happy again, "Thanks, that's feels really good to know." She said, appreciated.

**---Half An Hour Later---**

Kai walked out onto the porch where Tori still sat, Kai still looking a bit disappointed and upset, especially after he had spent the night. "Hey, come sit down." Tori looked up at him, smiling kindly at him and gesturing to the space next to her. Kai sat down beside her, actually taking advantage of the fact that the others where no where to be seen. She wrapped an arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder again, Kai tensing up at the same time. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I ate so I feel like crap."

Tori smiled lightly at that, "I'm sure it'll pass." She whispered. Kai shook his head, resting his head on his arms, hiding his face from Tori though she noticed he took a deep breath, it was shaky but deep all the same. "Kai…" Tori called quietly. He looked up at her, eyes holding the exhaustion he felt as he turned to look at the other pale girl. Tori brushed his hair out of his face to look at him, worry evident in her eyes again. "Are you going to be ok?" she asked.

"Yeah." Kai answered quietly before turning back to resting his head on his arms. "Just tired."

"Yeah, I've noticed that." Tori said. "Listen…the others are out and I need to go out too, so it's safe to go get some sleep."

"I slept a whole 10 hours, I'm not sleeping anymore."

"We are really different because if someone told me to go sleep even if I had 10 hours sleep already I would so go get some sleep."

"And I'd take that surgery but what difference does that make?"

Tori turned back to Kai, lifting his head up a little so that they could look at each other. Tori pulled her arms around him, a pale pink starting to tint her pale cheeks, that not affecting her comforting actions. "Stop worrying. I have time left."

"And I don't want you wasting that time trying to help someone who can't be helped."

"I just want to try, that's all." Tori whispered.

"I'm not worth it!"

Tori's arms tightened around him a bit more, getting closer she placed a soft and gentle kiss his cheek, taking Kai aback with that gesture. Kai pulled out of her arms, no real reason to why he did that when everything felt so right to him. He stared at the ground, trying hardest to hide the blush that almost crept onto his face as he tried to think of a possible reaction to give to her action. Lucky for him that Tori just stood up, "I need to go out, I'll see you later, ok?" she asked. Kai nodded a bit, stood up and went inside.

Tori walked down the street, finally finding she was far from the Dojo, and half way to her apartment, she entered a small side street and sat on the damp ground. Placing her head in her hands she rested like that for a few minutes, her head pounding furiously, making her feel weaker by the second that passed by her. _'Mistress…Keep calm.'_

'_I am calm.' _Tori said, wincing in pain.

'_You're not so try to calm down.'_

Tori grew a bit angry at that, glaring down at the ground with her narrowed eyes. _'You say that another time and I will bash you blade into oblivion.'_ She thought angrily.

'_I'm sorry Mistress.'_

Tori ignored the bit-beast once more; rising from the ground she took a few steps forward. She froze again, eyes widening as the air caught tightly in her throat and she hit the hard concrete ground with a sickening thud. _'Denzelle…I…'_ that was about all she could say before she finally lost complete consciousness there in the small street.

**---Hours Later---**

Tori sat in the back of a car, leaning against the car door with her beyblade gripped tightly in her hands. Mr Dickinson sat on the other end of the car, staring out a window too, where neither of them said a word to each other for a while. Tori rested her forehead against the cold glass, thinking about nothing at all the whole time as she kept her eyes on the building she would be in again shortly. "Now dear, are you sure you don't want me to go in with you?" Mr Dickinson asked as they got closer.

"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you." Tori replied, smiling towards the older man like she always did.

"Ok well you're here. Now, if you need me to pick you back up after then just call me, alright?"

"Yes. Thank you, Mr Dickinson." Tori stepped out of the car, waving as the car pulled away from the pavement. She turned towards the tall building, walking up the path to the hospital where she had an appointment with her doctor…again.

Across the street Kai saw Tori entering the building and ran after her. Approaching her straight away would only lead to trouble so he decided to follow her but lay low all the same. Tori walked up to the front desk, spoke quietly to a nurse and made her way to her destination. Unfortunately for Kai, he lost her after a while so looking around careful to see if he could catch sight of her he found that she was no where to be seen so he decided to ask a nurse where she would be.

The nurse refused to answer, claiming that no one was allowed to interrupt. With that, Kai actually didn't care very much since he saw Tori's doctor walking into a room just down the hall. He knocked hurriedly on the door, the doctor opened the door ajar and looked out at Kai. "May I help you with something?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, you can. Is Komatsu Tori in there?"

"Who's asking?"

"You didn't answer the question."

"Toketu-san…" Tori called from inside the room, "He's a friend, let him in." she said.

Kai glared coldly at the doctor, walking straight past him and into the room. The room was pretty dark, one small light lit the corner of the room where Kai could see a pure white covered bed that Tori lay on. A nurse sat on a chair next to her, rolling up Tori's sleeve and working on putting the I.V into her arm. "Hey Kai…sit down." Tori said quietly.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Kai asked her, not paying any attention to her earlier order.

Tori shut her eyes, her left hand squeezing tighter on her beyblade as a needle was pricked into her right arm. "Nothing to worry about, I'll tell you that much." The nurse said.

"She's right. I had a few fainting spells today so this should help me with that for a while." Tori said, opening her eyes to look at him again. "Don't look so shocked and scared. It's alright." She said, smiling as always. Kai stood there looking down at her, not sure whether he should be scared or angry. "Hey, you can go back to Tyson's if you like, I'll be fine by myself."

"No, I'm staying." Kai said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Tori smiled gratefully towards him, he himself nodding as a reply. "So how long is this going to take?" he asked after a while.

The doctor had left but the nurse just replied, "About an hour, then she can go back home." She got off her chair and walked towards the door, "I'll be back later to check on you."

"Why didn't you tell me you needed to come here again?" Kai asked urgently once she left.

"It happened after I left the Dojo, I thought you would have been resting and it was fine because Mr Dickinson brought me here and I was safe."

"You should have said something about it, I didn't want to have found out like this."

"Kai…hospitals make you uncomfortable, I know that much so if you don't want to be here than go home and I'll see you there later."

"Like I said, I'm staying here with you. End of discussion." Kai said firmly, taking her left hand in his.

Tori closed her eyes for a bit, smiling more than usual at his words, like anything he said could get her to smile even more each time. "You sure know how to win a case."

"I'm argumentative, I've had some good practice."

"So I see." Many minutes past in silence. Kai wanting to fill that silence a little, even though he didn't dare utter a word so as not to disturb Tori. "Kai…"

"Yeah?"

"Once you're here…"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes I do."

"Well then why don't you? I mean…you're here, in a hospital, you've got serious sleeping and eating problems, maybe there's a doctor round here that could actually help you with some of that." Tori said calmly.

"I'll live without it, thanks."

"You really want to test how long you will live by doing this to yourself?"

"Aren't we already trying things out your way?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So don't complain, at least I'm trying something. At least I'm trusting you."

"Yes you are." Tori whispered, "Thank you…"

"For what?"

"For trusting me and…for being here." Tori replied with her cheeks being tinted with pink again.

"I should be thanking you for the same things."

"I don't need to be thanked for anything at all…I just try to help where I can." Tori's eyes drooped shut, "Kai…I'll talk later…I promise." After that she fell asleep, leaving Kai to sit there in the silent and dark room till the nurse decided to get back.

The tall nurse walked in about half an hour later, seeing both teenagers asleep. Kai had been sitting on the chair she was using earlier and now resting his head on the end of the bed. She pulled up another stool and slowly worked on pulling the I.V out of Tori's arm. Once she had pulled it out Tori woke up in an instant, sitting up slightly. "Are you feeling alright?" The nurse asked.

Tori didn't answer, eyes cast on the other teenager that rested against her bed. "Seems like the worrying about you wore him out." The nurse said with a smile, cleaning up Tori's arm.

"Maybe but he hasn't been sleeping so that could be it too." Tori said, running her fingers through Kai's thick hair.

"Really? Maybe he should see the doctor about that."

"He doesn't want to and he's stubborn and besides, I don't want to push him into things he doesn't want to do."

The nurse smiled at that, putting as many of the equipment used on Tori away while still paying attention to Tori and answering back, "Sounds like you really care about him. Is he more than just a friend?"

"Oh, no! We're just friends," Tori said, blushing immensly at that, "Really close friends." she added quietly.

"I was just asking." The nurse said with a laugh. "Though if you're worried about him, maybe you could keep him resting and we could take a blood test."

Tori thought about it for a second, her fist tightening around the covers beneath her, "Sounds nice, I'll admit but I don't want to go behind his back with this."

"Agreed. It's not the best idea in the world but there are still a lot of doctors that insist on doing those kind of things on people."

"Them, of all people, should know that it is wrong." Tori said, a bit of anger in her voice.

"Yes, they should. Well, you're all done, maybe you should wake up your friend."

Tori nodded, gently and carefully shaking Kai's shoulder to wake him from his deep sleep. Kai tiredly looked up at her, eyes not taking long to adjust to the light as there was almost none. "Time to wake up, sleepy head." Tori said quietly with her usual smile gracing her lips. "You fell asleep." She answered Kai's confused look.

Kai stood up quickly to allow Tori to get out of bed, watching as she wavered slightly as she got onto her feet. Soon they made their way out of the room and down the halls to leave, when Tori stopped to look at the children's ward and a little girl ran out and hugged her tightly. "Tori-san!" she exclaimed happily.

"Hey." Tori said sweetly.

"Are you coming in to see the others today?"

"I don't think so...I'm not alone today." Tori replied, gesturing over her shoulder towards Kai.

"Go. I don't really mind." Kai said, shrugging slightly.

Tori turned from when Kai said that to looking back down at the little girl and the cute puppy dog eyes and pout she was making up at her, "Alright but just one song." she said.

The little girl, Mina, beamed happily, gripped Tori's hand and pulled Tori through the ward's doors. Kai smiled and followed her inside, going at a slower and calmer pace than Tori was forced to take. Tori sat down on an empty bed, picking up the tapes and CDs that where on the table next to it. "So I promised only one song so choose wisely." Tori warned, placing out the CDs and tapes for all to see.

A four year old girl who sat in the arms of a nurse bit her nail shyly and looked up at Tori abit before pointing towards a yellow and pink CD. "That one." she tried to say quietly.

"Katagoshi ni Kinsei? Is that alright?" Tori asked everyone else.

Everyone nodded and all grouped closer around Tori. Tori took a deep breath, her second time singing in front of Kai and she still felt uneasy about it. She put the CD into the player and hit play, soon starting to sing.

"Yoake mae no  
Kumo ni kinsei  
Anata to futari  
Mitsuketa ne

Himitsu no koi  
Dare ni mo iezu  
Sotto sora ni  
Kieteku ka na

Toiki de kaze ga kawaru  
Kimochi wo hoshi ni tobasu

Tsutanaku hakanage na  
Konna omoi mo  
Mirai de umarekawaru

Asa no hodou itsu made mo  
Te wo tsunaida yo ne  
Wasurenai kara ne  
Itsuka wa dakishimete ne  
Zutto zutto suki da kara  
Namida wa misenai  
Atarashii koi dekiru ka na  
Kinsei mitete

Madogiwa ni yoku  
Suwatte ita  
KANOjo ga iru koto  
Shitteta

Katagoshi kusa no nioi  
Kimochi wo nigirishimete

Setsunaku modokashii  
Konna kimochi mo  
Itsuka wa hana ni kawaru

Yuugure made kakete yuku  
Kagayaki no egao  
Tsuite yuku kara ne  
Ashita mo mata waratte  
Zutto zutto kurushikute  
Namida wa kieta no  
Atarashii koi mitsukeru wa  
Kinsei mitete

Tsutanaku hakanage na  
Konna omoi mo  
Mirai de umarekawaru

Asa no hodou itsu made mo  
Te wo tsunaida yo ne  
Wasurenai kara ne  
Itsuka wa dakishimete ne  
Zutto zutto suki da kara  
Namida wa misenai  
Atarashii koi dekiru ka na  
Kinsei mitete"

Tori glanced up at Kai, where he kept smirking at her, what was so funny when she sang? How'd he get into such a good mood over her singing? She stood up, saying bye to all the little kids before hurrying out of the room, grab Kai's hand on the way out and dragging him out with her.

They left the hospital as quickly as possible, not a word coming from either one of the teenagers. "You still laughing back there?" Tori asked, as she was ahead of Kai.

"Not really."

"Good." Tori said, slowing down and latching onto his arm. They both reached the Dojo, Tori turned to him, "You worried about me, that was sweet but now go and get some sleep." She said quietly.

"Aren't you staying?"

"No. I'm going to go back to the apartment, I have some things to do. Like I said, go get some sleep and you know where to find me if you need anything." Tori smiled slightly, a hand going to touch Kai's cheek before she kissed him there, blushing on both of their behalves before Tori ran down the street, her hands clawing at her pockets as she gripped tightly onto her green and pink blade.

**A/N: Extra long chapter no? Now no one can say I have short chapters lol. This was a pretty long chapter and I've worked really really hard on it and I'm hoping it turned out alright. Please forgive me though if there are any mistakes towards the end of the chapter but this chapter is being finished here at my uncles house and I'm using his laptop without microsoft word and spell checker. **

**Now...In this chapter there was a song. Like Tori said, the song was called 'Katagoshi Ni Kinsei' which means 'Venus Over My Shoulder' and it was sung by Komatsu Ayaka. Now by coincidence I realized I used this singer/actress/model's name for Tori and only now did I realized. And here are the lyrics of the song in English:**

**_In the clouds  
Before daybreak  
The two of us  
Found Venus _**

**_Will our secret love  
Vanish softly into the sky  
Without us being able to  
Tell anyone about it? _**

**_With a sigh, the winds change  
I cast my feelings to the stars _**

**_Awkwardly, these fleeting  
Emotions will also  
Be reborn in the future _**

**_Along the morning footpath, we always  
Held hands together  
I won't forget that, so  
Someday hold me close to you  
Because I'll love you forever and ever  
I won't show you my tears  
Perhaps I can find a new love  
Looking at Venus _**

**_I was often sitting  
By the window  
I knew that you had  
A girlfriend _**

**_Over my shoulder, the smell of grass  
Hold on tightly to these feelings _**

**_Painfully, these frustrating  
Feelings will also  
Turn into flowers someday _**

**_I'll go into the twilight  
My radiant smile  
Will go along with me  
Tomorrow I'll smile again  
I'll be in pain forever and ever  
But my tears are gone  
I will find a new love  
Looking at Venus _**

**_Awkwardly, these fleeting  
Emotions will also  
Be reborn in the future _**

**_Along the morning footpath, we always  
Held hands together  
I won't forget that, so  
Someday hold me close to you  
Because I'll love you forever and ever  
I won't show you my tears  
Perhaps I can find a new love  
Looking at Venus _**

**Hope you liked the song and the chapter in general, I will have another chapter up next weekend most probably so till then please review and give me your opinion of this chapter. Ja!**


	14. The Feelings We Have Inside

_**Chapter 14**_

Tori lay down on her sofa, panting heavily from how fast she ran and strangely, still blushing at the same time. A small smirk crept onto her face in the mean time that and she just couldn't help but leave it there. A part of her couldn't believe she did that, feeling like she had done something wrong but still being glad that Kai didn't yell at her for it, not that he had that much of a chance to though.

Then again, Kai was probably just as shocked as she was, if not more. She just really hoped that what she had done wouldn't ruin the fragile friendship she now had with him. Again, she couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks and with a sweet smile on her face, she pulled the blanket over herself a lay on the sofa for a bit, staring at the same point on the wall till she fell asleep.

**---With Kai---**

At the same time, Kai lay on his bed for a while, thinking back on the day's events, one little thing that happened in particular. He smiled just a little to himself. It was the first time in a really long time that someone had shown that much affection towards him that the light touch of her lips on his skin sent chills down his spine. Even though he enjoyed the feeling of it all, fear began to grow more inside him than it had before, his heart beating twice as fast as it usually would when calm. What about her dieing? He could never be ok with that happening. He could never get that close to her because all his senses would be screaming out to him about how she would be dieing soon. _'Just under five months now.' _He thought sadly to himself.

Another problem had actually arisen. He always was able to get himself to do things, stupid things too but being with a girl, being that close to a girl felt strange. To himself, not to Dranzer but only to himself did he actually admit that he was sometimes shy around them.

He actually hadn't been that close to a girl before. Well…he had been but she was just a friend and she had died after a few years of them knowing each other. He didn't remember too much about that time but the little he could remember was that he was heartbroken when that had happened. Imagine what could happen if he got closer to Tori and she was dieing in five months, he _knew_ when she was going to die which only made things worse. But that girl, even before her, he was confident, as confident as he was now but asking him to be that confident when it came to girls and ones that he actually liked was hopeless.

With Tori it was probably going to be no different. He was always able to be cold towards her, except the times when she offered help that he needed. He always got that far but even when she rested against him, that was probably when he needed to suppress the blushed from creeping onto his pale skin the most. She never saw him blush thankfully, since usually when he did she would be doing the same and would have turned away from him. Just because she never saw him, didn't mean he never saw her.

Taking in a deep and shaky breath he pulled his arms around himself from under the covers. His bare bruised hands gripping his arms tightly, closing his eyes and falling asleep in an instant.

**---That Night- 11:45pm---**

Tori sat down on her bed, a video game in hand as she played, bored since she had slept most of the day and couldn't sleep now. Denzelle sat cross legged on the pillow beside Tori, glancing over her shoulder to look at Tori playing the game. Suddenly a light ringing went on in the bit-beast's head and she looked up at her Mistress, "Mistress…am I needed here?"

"No. I'm alright; you can go back into your blade." Tori answered, the game being put on pause as she smiled at the girl beside her.

"Thank you, Mistress." Denzelle nodded her head and disappeared quickly. _'Well…why have you called me away of my Mistress?' _she asked the red Phoenix.

'_You told me that if I needed help for my Master that I could talk to you.'_

'_Yes. That's true and that still stands so what's the problem?'_

'_Earlier today my Master got into an argument with the rest of the team, the argued with him about what was wrong with him and he left. He doesn't want to go back there for now but…of what I can see, a storm is coming…'_

'_So…you want to know if it'll be alright if he came over and stayed at Tori's for a while?'_

'_Yes.' _

Denzelle took a breath, _'That is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard another bit-beast ask. Do you not know the answer already?'_

'_Well pardon me for being polite.'_

'_It's alright by me and I'm sure my Mistress won't have any objections.' _

'_Thank you but please…don't tell your Mistress about this. She'll come to know in her own time, maybe when he arrives.'_

'_Alright. And don't worry too much about your Master; we'll make sure he's okay.'_

'_Thank you.' _The two bit-beasts parted soon after and Denzelle returned to her own blade, sitting and wondering about the teenage blader. She took a breath and appeared beside Tori, sitting with a small smile on her face towards the other girl. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pretty good actually." Tori smiled, placing the game on her bedside table.

"Any particular reasons to that?"

"Not really…I'm just in a good mood."

"That's good then. Are you feeling better after the doctor today?"

"Yeah, I think I'm doing alright. My head doesn't hurt so much now either." Tori smiled happily, lying down.

"I'm glad you're feeling better then. So…you aren't going to reconsider the operation?"

"I'm sorry, Denzelle. I really don't think I am but look on the bright side of it."

"It's not a bright side without you here." Denzelle said quietly, her eyes hidden by her hair.

Tori smiled kindly, placing her hands onto the Tiger-girl's shoulders, "Once I'm gone, you'll be human and free to live a new life, that's pretty good by itself. You don't need me around."

Denzelle began to speak quietly but was interrupted when the door bell rang. Tori smiled towards Denzelle supportively and got off the bed and walked out of the bedroom. Denzelle pouted slightly, pushing herself off the bed and disappearing in a flash of light from the room.

"Kai…" Tori whispered, seeing the teenager in her doorway.

"Hey…" Kai said quietly. "Think I could come in?"

"Sure." Tori said, opening the door wider and closing it behind him. "What happened? Why are you out so late?" she asked quickly, taking his hand and leading him to the living room.

Kai sat down on the sofa, thinking for a second before speaking. "I got into an argument with the others and I don't want to go back just yet and Dranzer suggested I should come here."

"He suggested right then." Tori sat down next to him, "What was the argument about?" her voice was just above a whisper.

"Tyson started it out; he wanted me to explain to him what was going on. That's all it was."

"That's all it was?"

"Yeah."

"You want to stay here for the night?" Tori asked, she still remained quiet with that.

"Depends, do you mind?" Kai asked her, looking into her eyes.

Tori smiled, pulling her arms around him in a gentle hug, "Of course not. Stay as long as you like."

Kai took a deep breath, smiling a little in the comforting embrace, "Thanks." His hands on her sides in a light hug.

Tori pulled away slowly, still smiling at him caringly. "Are you alright?" she asked, seeing him sit back.

"Yeah, I'm ok."

"Have you eaten?"

"Not since this morning."

Tori took his hand, squeezing it tight in hers. "Felt sick then?"

"Not even."

"Maybe you should eat a little more then."

"No way, I'll kill myself if I have to do that again today." Kai argued quickly.

Tori moved close to him, resting against him slightly, "You tired?"

"Not really."

"Kai…"

"Could you please stop saying my name like that?" Kai yelled angrily at her. "Don't treat me like this." He whispered.

Tori got off the sofa, scaring Kai for a second when he thought he had hurt her and she was going to leave him but this time, that wasn't the case. She picked up the blanket from the chair on the other side of the room and spread it out over him, sat next to him and covered herself too. "You want to talk for a bit?" she asked.

"Sure. About anything…just no problems for now."

"Anything in mind?"

"I was hoping _you_ did."

Tori smiled a bit, "Alright well…how long have you been beyblading?" she asked.

Kai looked at her a bit confusedly, what kind of question was that? He said he wanted to talk about something, not go through his childhood and beyblade career. Taking things as they came he answered her question anyway, "Ever since I was about three or four, can't really remember but about that age."

"That's pretty young but I'll bet you were really good. I started when I was about five and I wasn't too good, I could barely hold the launcher right." Tori admitted.

Kai smirked at that, "Might explain why I never saw you at a tournament."

"Actually that's because I was moving around with my parents a lot at the time so I didn't manage to, I didn't really have the time to join a team and beyblade." Tori started, "And I don't think a blader…Never mind actually." She said quickly.

"No, tell me." Kai whispered.

"It's nothing."

"Even better reason to tell me."

"I don't think a blader constantly fainting by the dish would have been right."

"But…you can still battle; you've got that much in you."

"Still…if I had a team…I don't think they'd have enough patience to deal with me for so long. They probably wouldn't be able to wait till I died."

"Not our team though." Kai told her, "They've grown to like you…they're as upset as I am that you're dieing soon. They've grown really attached to you in a really small amount of time, you're lucky for that."

"Yeah, they're good friends." Tori whispered. She looked up at him a bit, resting her cheek against his arm, "As are you." She added quietly.

"I'm really not."

"I think you are. You were there for me today…I said I didn't need you there but I think I did more than I thought." Tori pulled her arms round Kai's waist, still resting against him.

"Tori…I…"

"Kai…if you keep not taking care of yourself well then you're going to end up just like me."

"You seem to be ok with it." Kai said, a little anger in his voice.

Tori smiled a little, pushing herself a little closer to him, her lips gently resting on his. She parted after only a moment, moving away a little so that she could give Kai a chance to react to what she had done. He didn't say a word but when she looked away his hand touched her neck and he made her look up at him, his eyes held fear and pain like they sometimes did. Tori moved her hand onto his, tears welling up in her eyes. "Say you'll go but you'll come back." Kai ordered her quietly.

"I can't do that." Tori whispered stubbornly.

Kai shook his head a little and sat back, "Are you scared?"

"Eh?" Tori looked beyond confused now.

"Are you scared to take the surgery?" Kai repeated.

"No…of course not."

"Really? I don't know, I think _I_ would be."

"Would you be?" Tori asked, "I wouldn't think you would."

"You thought wrong then."

Tori smiled at that and quickly asked, "So what else are you afraid of?"

Kai smirked, pulling an arm over her shoulders to let her rest against him again, "Don't push your luck." He warned.

"I'm really trying not to but I can't help but be curious about you." Tori smiled up at him and Kai nodded lightly but didn't say a word. "Kai…are you alright?" she asked quietly.

Kai looked down at her, her sweet kindness gleaming through every part of her. All he could do was smile a little, "Yeah." He added, trying to look as convincing as he could.

**---Later that night---**

Both teenagers lay sleeping on the sofa, the covers over the both of them as both slept soundly. Well, one of them at least. Kai wasn't doing too good but Tori was still fast asleep and was unaware of the things that happened to the boy that slept behind her. They had both slept on their sides, Tori's back against Kai's chest for most of the night as they'd fallen asleep like that after too much time of talking to each other. The TV had been put on mute, just as Tori had left it when she noticed Kai was getting tired.

Many minutes had passed and the form of the boy began to shake more, the trembling only getting worse with time. Tori woke up quickly when Denzelle called in her mind to wake up. She sat up and looked at the boy who had lay just behind her on the sofa, placing her hands on his shoulders she urgently tried to wake him up. The sleep was as fragile as the boy was and it instantly broke once Tori called out to Kai. He sat up with a bit of a start, eyes focusing on the girl in front of him who almost fell back onto the table from being surprised by Kai's sudden movement. "Are you alright?" Tori asked, blinking a bit in surprise at Kai's confused yet gentle look.

"Yeah."

"Doesn't look like it if you ask me."

"If you're going to go with your own opinion you shouldn't have asked." Kai told her, bringing his heart rate down to a calmer pace.

"That sounds fair." Tori admitted, making him sit back a little.

"Yeah, I thought so too that's why I said it."

"Bad dream?" Tori asked quietly. Kai nodded in reply, eyes cast as far away from the teenage girl as possible. "What was it about?" Tori asked after a minute.

"It's nothing."

"How long do you think I can believe that?" Tori asked him.

"Sounds like you never did."

"Got that right." Tori said quickly, "How about you go make yourself something to eat?"

"Not after that." Kai muttered. Tori had barely heard him but she didn't need to, his face had paled more and he rushed off the sofa and into the bathroom. "Kai…" Tori whispered, running to the bathroom, the door being slammed in her face. "Kai! Are you alright?" she called urgently.

"Mistress…" A voice called from behind the Tiger's Mistress.

Tori shot around to look at Denzelle that stood before her, "What?" she asked.

"Leave him alone for a while."

"You have to be joking, right?"

"I'm not. I just spoke to Dranzer and Kai needs to be alone for a while."

"Either Dranzer has lost his mind or I have." Tori rubbed her temples as she walked back into the living room and sat down.

Denzelle smiled and sat next to Tori, "I doubt you have lost your mind, Mistress but I don't think Dranzer has either." She comforted lightly. "Just give him some space for the night. Go get some sleep; I'll inform you if I feel he needs your help."

"No sense arguing with someone who's got my stubbornness is there?" Tori got off the sofa and walked down the hall to her room, keeping the door open in case Kai needed anything.

Denzelle laughed at that before glancing at the bathroom door. "I hope you know what you're doing, Dranzer." She whispered softly, disappearing a second later.

**---Next Morning---**

Tori walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen, seeing Kai already there with a mug filled with coffee. "Morning." Tori greeted. Kai only nodded and Tori looked up a bit at him while she poured out some cereal, "How long have you been awake?" she asked.

"Bout an hour."

"Kai…what happened last night?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

"Let's not talk about it." Kai said, walking out of the room.

"For once, lets." Tori said, a harsh tone in her voice. "Tell me what happened."

"I had a nightmare and I felt sick after, no big deal." Kai called from the living room.

"Was that all so hard to say?" Tori asked, walking into the living room.

"It was easy because you haven't asked the worst question yet." Kai said, eyes focused on the ground.

"You mean, what was the nightmare about?" Tori asked. She smiled gently after that, "I wasn't going to ask. You don't need to tell me but if you need to talk to anyone about it I'm here."

"For now." Kai whispered.

"Don't think about me dieing. Like you hate being treated like you're helpless I hate being treated like someone who will die soon. Just treat me like you don't know what my future is, like you don't know when I'm going to die."

"How on Earth do you want me to do that? How do you expect _anyone_ to that?"

"If someone can try not to worry about someone close to them then someone could try to treat someone as though they aren't going to die just yet."

"I can't just forget that you're dieing."

"Just try not to think about it then." Tori continued. "Look let's…spend the day together. That way you don't need to deal with the others and maybe you can just relax for a day." She suggested. "It worked last time." She added.

"Yeah, alright."

"Alright. You make something for breakfast, maybe you'll start feeling better if you actually ate something. After I'm done with my breakfast I'm going to go out for about an hour or so, no need to follow me because I'm not going to be doing anything dangerous." Tori assured him, smiling a bit at her comment.

"That'd be a miracle." Kai smirked.

Tori rolled her eyes, the smile never leaving her face, "Well I'm not getting into trouble so you can stay here and relax for a bit." She said, getting up and walking into the kitchen to put the empty bowl in the sink to wash later.

"Relax?"

"Yes. You know, where you stay calm, loosen up, think about nothing."

"Oh so all I need to do is be like you."

"Oh ha-ha." Tori laughed sarcastically, looking out of the kitchen at Kai. "So I like to take things easy, is that so wrong?"

"Maybe."

"Whatever you say then." Tori called as she walked into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. _'Wow he's stubborn.'_

'_Like you.' _Denzelle added, laughing along with Tori.

'_Yeah, I'm pretty stubborn aren't I?'_

'_That's for sure.' _Denzelle laughed. _'Mistress…about last night…'_

'_With me and Kai?' _

'_Yes.'_

Tori sat on her bed a nodded slightly, _'I couldn't help it. It felt really strange, I know that much but…I really don't know how he feels about it.' _

'_He felt uncertain…that's for certain.'_

'_Yeah, I thought that much but still, maybe…'_

'_I think so.'_

Tori smiled happily and got off her bed, picked up his clothes and walked into the bathroom.

**---A Couple Of Hours Later---**

Tori sat in the Dojo by herself, patiently waiting for the three bladers to come into the room as she had ordered. They did so and all sat in front of her, glancing at each other, wondering what she wanted to talk to them about. "What was that argument with Kai about?" she asked them, her voice a bit cold compared to her usual kind one.

"We got worried about him after he spent so long in the bathroom and in his room." Ray started.

"So we decided to question him about it and make him talk to us." Tyson continued.

"That wasn't a smart action. You shouldn't be forcing him into anything, especially talking about what's wrong with him." Tori said angrily.

"He's our friend too though and we want to know what's wrong as much as you do."

Tori's eyes widened just slightly, taking a breath, her hands going to her head as all the thoughts began rushing, just like the words that crossed her lips, "You guys don't understand why I'm here. I'm not only here to train you but I'm here to help him. Because I die in a couple of months I'm able to take the risks that you all can't take with him."

"What do you mean?" Ray asked quickly.

"I can question him on things and risk ruining a friendship because if I ruin the friendship with him we don't need to deal with each other for much longer. If you take the same risks I take you are at the risk of pushing him away but since you are all good friends you could ruin something really great…probably something I can't have with Kai."

"What's that supposed to mean? I mean, you're getting pretty close to Kai." Max said, understanding all that Tori was saying up until this point.

"Yes but if I screw up by taking a risk then it's not a life time relationship that's gone. You guys have that kind of friendship, I'll admit that it's not like every other friendship but he still counts you guys as friends."

"So…you're sacrificing a good friendship with Kai so that…when you're gone we can be better friends to him?" Tyson asked, disbelief written all over his face.

Tori froze and sat back a little, "Finally…you get it." She said calmly. Tori got off the ground and began to walk out of the room, her hand being caught by someone, she looked back and saw them all holding onto her hand.

"Don't risk your own life for this. _We'll_ work it out." Ray told her.

"Only if it's together." Tori whispered.

"Then we'll do it together, which ever, we just don't want you to do it by yourself."

"Apparently I don't have to." Tori smiled at them all, her hand softening in theirs. "But…guys, I'm dieing in a few months, I don't have that much time."

"Then it'll be alright."

"Thanks. I need to go; I'm meeting Mr Dickinson because he wants to make sure I'm alright."

"Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

**---Later---**

"I guess he's opening up quite well, he seemed to have had a rough night though." Tori informed Mr Dickinson.

"Is he alright now?"

"He seemed ok, just a bit upset that I was questioning him on it but I want to talk to him about it when I get home. Maybe get him to lighten up a bit then ask him about it." Tori said.

"Tori, he _is_ fragile you know." Mr Dickinson told her carefully.

Tori nodded in understanding, "I get that but I manage to get him to talk a little without pushing him too far."

"Whatever you do to get him talk just make sure you don't harm him, I've been worried about him for years now."

"I know and even in the little time I've known him, I've always been worried about him and now…" Tori trailed off, lowering her head slightly as that creepy red blush appeared on her face again.

Mr Dickinson smirked at that and sat forward in his seat, "Now, what?" he asked her.

"I've got some…serious feelings for the guy."

"To think, I've known you ever since you were a baby and now I'm seeing you in love over someone I sent you to keep an eye on."

Tori smiled lightly, "Your little girl is all grown up." She joked.

"It appears so." Mr Dickinson agreed. "It's too bad that you two won't be spending too much time together though."

"My time is running out. I'm going to die quicker than anticipated, that's what the doctors have told me recently, that's what makes me feel bad, that I love him and I can't be with him."

"I don't want to irritate you with this Tori but I still think you should take that surgery."

"I know, a lot of people think I should but I see no point. There is almost a zero percent chance that it'll work, if it doesn't work then I could die in that surgery. I have more life now than I could then."

"That's true but maybe you should reconsider, at least taking the scans to see that maybe things have changed, that maybe there's a better chance that the surgery will be successful." Mr Dickinson told her wisely. Like most people who knew the girl he was worried about her but then again, like those most people knew, Tori was a stubborn girl and it would take a miracle to get her to change her mind or opinion about something.

"I don't think so." Tori shook her head, a smile on her face as always.

"It's your choice, Tori. I was just voice my opinions and suggestions." The older man said admittedly.

"I know, Mr Dickinson and I take all those into account but I'm sticking by my decision." Tori told him. She stood and walked over to Mr Dickinson, resting against the desk, "Besides, good can come out of this, Denzelle is finally going to be free."

"Only a part of her wants that, she doesn't want it at your expense."

"I know but I'm just trying to look on the Brightside of things. Just make sure that when I'm gone…you'll look after her as well as you've looked after me."

"I promise you I will."

"Thank you." Tori said, tears shining in her brown eyes.

Mr Dickinson placed a hand on Tori's shoulder, making Tori look at it in thought. "Go and have a nice day." He told her.

Tori smiled and nodded, giving the man a quick hug before leaving.

Within minutes she arrived at her apartment, walking through the doors, dropping her keys on the table and her bag by the door. "Kai?" she called out into the apartment. She knocked on Kai's bedroom door, not getting an answer so she stepped inside, finding no one in there. The bathroom door was open with no one inside. Doubting that he was in the kitchen, her next stop was the living room and that's when a soft smile graced her lips.

Looked like Kai had fallen asleep on the sofa again, he probably couldn't help it, who knew when he last had a good night's sleep. All he needed was one night. One night to see why Tori was doing what she was doing. She picked up the blanket and covered him with it, not having the heart to wake him when it finally looked like he was relaxed. When he was awake she never saw him so…peaceful. He was always uptight, stern and cold towards everyone but when he slept he was like an innocent kid. You could tell even more how pale his face was without the blue triangles there, they always made him look so intimidating when in actual fact he was just human and like all the others, he was just afraid to show it.

She shook her head a bit and went to her bedroom, she checked herself in the mirror to see if she had looked any good. She now wore a plain blue skirt that went jut above her knees. A white top that slipped just off her shoulders, her white knee socks and black shoes. A silver chain hung around her neck and had a silver pendent on the end of it which she sometimes squeezed when she hoped for something.

Her long auburn haired was pulled to the side so it fell only over one shoulder, she had never actually worn make up, neither did she have any on now. She had really pale skin though, mostly from all the medication she ever took and everything she had been through while in hospitals. She was skinny but she still had muscle and seemed to be quite strong for a girl her age and with her health. She was so much more different than all the other girls. The average height of a Japanese girl was about 5'2 but she was a 5'7, so much taller than everyone else. She admitted, she didn't really care about the little things but she hated to feel so different, especially at school.

She bit down on her lip and picked up her diary and some books off the dressing table in her room. She walked out and set the things down on the table in the living room opposite Kai. She sat on the floor, glancing up at Kai before putting her headphones on and listened to music while she did some of her homework since she didn't have much of anything better to do and…even if she was dieing, she wanted to do it so that at least, with all her differences she could at least be good at school and do homework like everyone else.

During all her work she couldn't help but sing quietly to the songs she listened to through her mp3 player. Without her knowing, a pair of crimson eyes where staring at her, a smile on his face. She had been working for about two hours now but he had been watching her for about ten minutes. He actually couldn't help himself at the time, he had woken up to her singing voice and that instantly got him to direct all his attention on her.

"Atsui kimochi wa C'est la vie  
Watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri  
C'est la vie anata wo aishitsuzuketai  
Me no mae ni aru kono shunkan ga ikiru basho  
Kakenukete"

Even those words, the songs she sang, they could reach out to a person but apart from that he just enjoyed listening to her be so care free in her life. Tori shifted, pouting looking a bit confused down at her work that lay on the table. She heard a small laugh over the music and she looked up to see Kai smiling at her. She switched her music off and moved the headphones down to her neck, "Sorry I woke you." She whispered.

"What… song was that?"

Tori smiled, "C'est la vie- Watashi no Naka no Koi Suru Bubun. It's by Komatsu Ayaka. You liked it?"

Kai shrugged a little, "It sounded good."

"I like it. It's the kind of song that keeps me going, the kind of song that no matter what makes me want to remain myself." Tori smiled happily, running over all the lyrics in her mind.

"Then sing it."

"Eh?"

"Sing it. I want to see if it can take the same affect." Kai told her. He didn't move from where he lay, he couldn't help but remain lying down with all his nerves in his body screaming for him to relax a bit longer.

"Maybe it will." Tori said, thinking about it. She got off the ground and plugged her mp3 player to her stereo and switched on the music. As it started she sat back down where she was before, shyly staring down at her book as she sang in her usual voice.

"Doushiyou mo nai shoudou ni tsukiugokasarete ima  
Watashi no sore wa hajimatta kimi wo motomeru omoi

Yotei chouwa no shousetsu ya eiga ga tsumaranai you ni  
JINSEE mo sukoshi ZUREtara omoshiroi no kamoshirenai

Atsui kimochi wa C'est la vie  
Watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri  
C'est la vie anata wo aishitsuzuketai  
Me no mae ni aru kono shunkan ga ikiru basho  
Kakenukete

Hito wa naze ichido dake shika ikiru CHANSU ga nai no  
Toki wa naze ichibyou sae mo tachidomaranai no darou

Omoigakenai dokoka ga ne  
Kutsuzure wo okosu mitai ni  
Tokidoki wa mune no dokoka ga setsunaku nattari suru kedo

Kitto mitsukaru C'est la vie  
Watashi ga watashi de aru riyuu  
C'est la vie anata ga anata de aru riyuu  
Nani mo mienai dakedo nanika ga mitai kara  
Oikakete

Yotei chouwa no shousetsu ya eiga ga tsumaranai you ni  
JINSEE mo sukoshi ZUREtara omoshiroi no kamoshirenai

Atsui kimochi wa  
C'est la vie watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri  
C'est la vie anata wo aishitsuzuketai  
C'est la vie watashi ga watashi de aru riyuu  
C'est la vie anata ga anata de aru riyuu

Me no mae ni aru kono shunkan ga ikiru basho  
Kakenukete  
Kakenukete"

"Sounds nice." Kai whispered.

Tori nodded, her face turning red again. _'Stupid, creepy, annoying blush won't leave me alone.'_ She yelled in her mind, feeling more heat rise in her cheeks.

"Wow watching you blush is a sight to see." Kai joked, knowing how embarrassed she was feeling already.

"Hey…" Tori pouted a bit, picked up the cushion she was sitting on and threw it at him.

It didn't hit Kai thankfully but on instinct he had moved out of the way, his light dizziness fading quickly after the movement he had got it from. Tori smiled and walked over to him, jumping next to him onto the sofa. "You're alright?" she asked him.

"I got about three hours of a peaceful sleep and you're here so I'm doing just fine." Kai said. His eyes widened when he realized what he'd just said and he cursed quietly under his breath, now a blush on his own face.

"Thank goodness you said that." Tori told him, "I thought I was going to be the first person to blurt out something like that." She moved closer to him, making a series of hand movements till her fingers where entwined in his. "Though I must say…that you're cute when you blush."

Kai said nothing, almost blushing but lucky enough to keep the little bit of red hidden. "Tori…you aren't going to reconsider taking that surgery are you?" he asked her quietly.

"I don't think so, Kai." Tori answered him, looking up at him sadly.

Kai sighed but he turned to look at her, seeing her staring up at him and taking the opportunity. He leaned in closer and placed a gentle careful kiss on her lips, he saw Tori's eyes widen slightly, probably she had thought he wasn't capable of doing such a thing but it seemed like he was. He pulled away slightly after that thought, giving her some space. Tori smiled, he didn't see it because he had turned away from her, "Now that's something I never thought you could do." She said.

"And all the time it took to find enough courage to do that just went down the drain with that one comment." Kai replied with a smirk, still not turning to look at her.

"I'm sorry." Tori said, pulling him a little so he'd turn back to looking at her. Kai turned round as she wanted, his heart rate quickening in the process. " I never thought you would do something like that though."

"If I didn't do it now willingly…I'd probably do it later when it's too late."

"I'm sorry that this has to happen but…if I had to start this all over again I don't think I'd change it." Tori whispered.

"Because if you didn't have to die then you and I wouldn't have gotten so close."

"Yeah." Tori agreed. "You didn't come to me for help until after you found out."

"I didn't even realize I did that."

**A/N: Sorry that this was such a boring chapter but I had to write all this in between studying since I've got exams coming up. Even though it was crap please leave me a review, I really want to know what you think, maybe by some stroke of luck someone liked how this chapter turned out. Ok…now this chapter had a song, as Tori said the song was called 'C'est La Vie- watashi no Naka no Koi Suru Bubun.' Which means from French to English 'C'est la vie' means 'That's the life.' While 'Watashi No Naka no Koi Suru Bubun' from Japanese to English means 'The Loving Part of Me' so here are the English lyrics to it.**

_**Stirred by impulses that there's nothing I can do  
That has begun for me now, feelings searching for you **_

_**Just like predictable movies and books are boring  
When life is a little bit off, it might be more fun **_

_**This warm feeling is c'est la vie  
As long as I am me  
C'est la vie, I want to keep on being in love with you  
Running through the place where this moment lives  
Right in front of me **_

_**Why is it that people have but one chance to live life  
Why does time not stand still even for one second **_

_**Just like an unexpected someplace  
Causes sores from the shoes on my feet  
From time to time someplace in my heart feels pain **_

_**I know I will find you, c'est la vie  
That's the reason I am me  
C'est la vie, that's the reason you are you  
I can't see anything, but I want to see something  
So I chase after you **_

_**Just like predictable movies and books are boring  
When life is a little bit off, it might be more fun **_

_**This warm feeling is  
C'est la vie, as long as I am me  
C'est la vie, I want to keep on being in love with you  
C'est la vie, that's the reason I am me  
C'est la vie, that's the reason you are you **_

_**Running through the place where this moment lives  
Right in front of me  
Right in front of me **_

**A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review!**


	15. Tears Of Love And Misery

**_Questions:_**

_Ray-Tiger-Cat's Question:_ How come Tori's parents don't want to spend her few months with her?

_Answer: _They will be entering the fic very soon, they will cause some problems also but the reason they aren't there with her at the moment is because you will find that Tori had one request; that when she died she would be settled in one country, rather than be moving around with her parents for work so hence, why she is in Japan at the moment and they still aren't there to see her.

_Silvan Arrow's First Question: _How is it that Denzelle will become human if Tori dies?

_Answer: _That's a little twist I put in there myself. Since Denzelle is already half human once her Mistress dies, since there isn't another generation for the bit-beast to get passed on to she gets to be set free and become fully human. Anymore questions on this subject will probably be answered later in the story.

_Silvan Arrow's Second Question:_ Where do you get all these Japanese songs?

_Answer: _Alright so if you just want to listen to the songs then you can try youtube, you will surely find them there. If you want them for download or for mp3s then you can try soundclick .com. (Don't put a space between any of the address, I did that cos fanfiction doesn't let me.) Very good chance you'll find them there, if you can't be bothered to make an account there and look them up and download them then you can PM me your e-mail address and I'll be more than happy to send them to you myself. Unfortunately I may not get around to sending them till the weekend, again, because of my exams but I will have them sent to you as soon as I get the chance to.

**_Chapter 15_**

After a couple of hours of talking between them, Tori left Kai alone to search the kitchen for something to eat. "Hey Kai, you want something to eat?" she asked.

"No thanks."

"I really don't like this not eating thing." Tori said carefully.

"Neither do I but there isn't much I can do about it."

Tori sighed a bit, leaning against the counter, "I still think you should see a doctor about it." She said.

"We've been through that already." Kai said angrily.

"I know but you can't blame me for worrying."

"You worry too much."

"Touché." Tori walked back into the living room, suddenly not in the mood to eat at all. "Though you can't say I don't have a good reason to worry." She added.

"Can't I?" Kai raised an eyebrow at her.

"You don't think you're a good reason?"

"Not a bit."

"You are to me though."

"You have no reason to worry. You shouldn't worry about me, I don't need to be worried about."

Tori saddened at that. She didn't mind worrying about him; she cared about him after all. All she ever wanted to do was help him but he wouldn't let her. "How can you not worry about someone you care about?"

"I thought we've been through this conversation before."

"We have but things probably weren't clear enough."

"They're as clear as they could ever get so please let's not get into that again." Kai told her.

"For your sake I'm not going to." Tori said, cuddling up next to him.

"Thanks." Kai whispered to her. He had to admit, he had felt uncomfortable with her being so close but…he didn't mind that much either, he liked being able to drop his cold shell long enough to let someone close enough to help him and make him feel looked after for once.

Tori looked up at Kai a bit, a sad look on her face at the same time, "Kai…are you ever going to tell me what your nightmares are about?" she asked quietly.

Kai sighed and moved a bit away from her with that one question. "I need time to sort things out." He said. "Just give me some time and I'll try."

"That sounds alright to me…just take it easy and tell me a bit at a time." Tori spoke quietly, seeing him nod in agreement she moved closer to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before resting against his shoulder again.

Kai's heart beat faster at that but shyly pulled an arm around Tori and let her rest against him despite everything.

**---Three Weeks Later---**

Kai and Tori had spent almost all the week together. Even though Tori had told Kai that the team wasn't mad at him anymore, he had spent most of the time away from them. He had usually trained with the team since Tori was monitoring his sleeping and eating so she saw it as safe to let him train a bit everyday. The relationship between Tori and Kai remained a secret from the others.

Well you couldn't always even tell that there was a relationship between the two. Sometimes they'd get into an argument; Kai would have most likely had a rough night and the morning only made him feel worse so it never took very long for arguments to establish off of those feelings. No matter the argument they always made up when they got back to the apartment, they'd just talk it all out till there was nothing left to talk about so then things where all sorted between the two.

Kai was always Tori's main concern and thanks to her visit to the hospital two weeks before, she had been spared any painful spells which gave her a better chance of keeping an eye on the other blader and keeping him from worrying about her. The weeks had flown by and because of that Tori's eyes where constantly being fixed to the calendar that hung in her bedroom.

At the same time, Kai was focusing on hiding all his problems from Tori, not wanting to worry her more than she already was. His nights had gotten worse but the days of talking to Tori made them seem almost like nothing and it wasn't as hard to convince him to get some rest as it used to be. He couldn't really say that he was comfortable with everything that went on, he didn't like how pushy Tori could be about him talking to her about his problems. He didn't like it at all since that made him ill a lot but he knew that she only cared about him but it made it difficult sometimes, he didn't care how ill he got, he just kept believing that Tori cared about him. It wasn't always easy, he knew that but he always tried.

"Kai…where are you?" Tori called, looking out of her bedroom.

"My room." Kai yelled back.

Tori walked out of her room and into Kai's, seeing him lying on his bed, two hands on his churning stomach while he lay on his side. "Hey…" she said quietly.

Kai groaned loudly at that, covering his head with the pillow a bit.

Tori sat next to him on the bed, taking Kai's hands off his stomach before running her hand through his hair. "It's late, get some rest." She told him.

"No way, not now. Just leave me alone."

Tori lay a hand on his forehead, drawing it back quickly at the touch of the hot skin. "I can't leave you alone when you're so ill." She whispered softly. She rubbed his back soothingly but after a while he shoved her hand off of him, pushed past her and ran out of the room. Tori winced when she heard the bathroom door close tight behind the quick teenager. She sighed heavily, walking out of the room and standing cross-armed by the bathroom door.

Many minutes passed her by and she heard the sound of the toilet flushing, then the sink water running. She turned to the door and in seconds Kai walked back out, eyes glazed over and fixed on the ground. She lifted his chin so he'd look at her, the weakness in his eyes was terribly worrying and all she could seem to do is wrap her arms around him and let him rest against her for a bit. Kai slowly pulled away from her after a bit and walked past her to his room before lying back onto his bed.

Tori sat back next to him, looking down at him their eyes locked and while her eyes asked what was wrong, Kai's tried to reassure her that he was alright. He could have tried for hours but still something in his eyes faltered and it still showed how weak he really was. Tori moved down closer to him, "Relax and get some sleep, I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?" she asked. She was sure to be extremely quiet, knowing that sudden loud sounds and movements would only make Kai feel even worse. Kai opened his mouth to speak but Tori just silenced him by raising her index finger to her lips, she slowly got off the bed and left Kai alone for a while.

'_Mistress…'_

'_Keep an eye on him. You call me if you see he's in pain or needs help with anything.' _Tori cut in, ordering her bit-beast.

'_Yes, Mistress.' _Denzelle said, leaving.

Tori walked into her bedroom and picked up her nightgown. She undressed slowly, catching sight of her thin form in the mirror. She picked up her nightgown from her bed again, her hand slipping slightly on the light silk. Summer had started and it was the only cool thing she had at the time, she pulled the wine colored gown over her head and straightened it out over her body. Sitting on her bed for a moment, she glanced at the calendar, _'Three more months.' _She thought painfully.

Each day she got closer to the other blader and that wore her down as each night came and she looked at the date. Day by day he did something that made her care about him more, it could've been anything but whatever it was it made her love him all the more for whatever it was that he did. Sighing she crawled to the top of her bed and slid under the light covers, resting her heavy head onto her pillow. In seconds she fell asleep, Kai on her mind as he always was.

**---Next Morning---**

Kai stood in the kitchen, drinking coffee like he usually did. Tori walked into the room, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before walking past him to the fridge. "Hey…" Kai called quietly. "I'm sorry about last night."

Tori turned towards him, smiling kindly at him. "It's fine, you were stressed, I get it." The two had come to know each other well. A whole three weeks had passed and in that time Tori took a mental note of all the things Kai reacted to and how he did so. She slowly learnt, that some of Kai's actions where ones that couldn't be controlled, ones that he had perfected over the years of pain. The one thing she had never seen him do was actually cry, he had once told her that he hadn't cried properly ever since he was a kid and that was just worrying in general. Crying was a sign of distress and pain but it was also a form of release, a sign of human emotion and humanity. Tori hadn't known much about psychology but ever since she knew Kai and she wanted to help look out for him she had actually borrowed some of those books from the school library and read about how not crying for a large amount of life could lead to depression and even suicide. She placed the milk she had brought out onto the counter and pulled her arms around his neck, kissing him softly, Kai returning it too, both shy at first.

They both pulled away, both turning away rather quickly so the other didn't see the blush. Tori made herself a bowl of cereal and moved to the living room, kneeling on the ground by the table to eat. In the mean time Kai sat on the sofa eating a slice of toast, all he was really up for that morning. "You're alright, Kai?" Tori asked once she finished.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kai replied quietly, "What about you?"

"I'm alright." Tori answered, getting up and sitting next to him. "Kai…talk to me a little." She whispered, hands on his chest. "Tell me a bit about what's going on."

"Drop it. It's not a problem."

"Talk…now."

"You don't know a thing, you don't know what's up so just leave it." Kai said in a warning tone.

"Or maybe I just know a little bit more than you think!" Tori almost yelled angrily. Her eyes suddenly widened when she realized the words that crossed her lips.

Kai had been glaring at her but with those words it faltered, his eyes widened just slightly before he pushed himself off the sofa and walked into his room, a loud bang coming from the wooden door being shut tightly behind him.

Tori sighed, _'Time to come clean.' _She thought sadly as she got up. She walked into Kai's room, standing in front of him. Kai sat on his bed, eyes fixed on the ground, his heart beating a mile a minute as her words repeated themselves over and over in her mind.

"How much do you _really_ know?" Kai asked her, not bothering to look up at her.

Tori ran out of the room, Kai sighing painfully at that action. She came back a minute later, placing a brown envelope on the table behind her. She grabbed a paper, staring at it for a minute, it was a photocopy of an old letter, a letter that looked like it had been shredding at some angles and crumpled all over before the copy was made. She put the paper in front of him, handing it to him.

Kai was shocked at that, his eyes widening and his head shooting up a bit at the sight of that letter. He froze, taking the paper in his shaking hand, "Where'd you get this?" he asked hurriedly.

Tori sat on the ground in front of him, so no matter where on the ground he stared at she could still see his face. "That's a letter your grandfather wrote to you about two years ago. After the first tournament he had gone to prison, then about a year later he got out and he sent that to you." She began pointing out, "He wanted you to pay for what you did to him and his plan so he sent that as a small taste of what was going to happen."

"Stop it! You didn't answer my question." Kai growled.

Tori didn't listen, she just kept on forcing it on him, hoping to even get a small reaction out of him. She sat on the bed next to him, "He insulted you pretty bad there, every word that was written there probably cut through you like a knife. You were young, probably scared and really hurt about it. He even swore he'd come after you. And he did…didn't he?" she asked quietly.

Kai didn't answer her but his right hand that held the paper had started shaking a bit more from fright, fear running through him, it seemed like all that haunted him at night where the things she was reminding him of now and adding to it.

Tori glanced down a bit, "And what he did to you…left a big scar." She added, tracing her nail deeply along the side of Kai's stomach turning all the way back to his spine. Kai shuddered with that, pushing himself a bit away from her.

He hated this, suddenly all the things he trusted, all the things he confided in where now against him and he was breaking from the inside but he tried so hard to remain strong with every word.

"You were put in hospital for it. Doctors said that it was done by some sharp knife but…you wouldn't say a word about what had happened. You put yourself at risk for about three months, hoping the police caught up with your grandfather without you saying anything."

"Why are you saying all this?" Kai asked her, his voice still holding its firmness and cold structure. Tori didn't answer so he just got up and ran to the door, it being slammed shut in a second and a clicking sound being heard from the outside. Denzelle had locked the door so he was trapped, made to listen to all that Tori now threw at him.

Kai went and sat back on his bed where he had been before, having no other choice.

"Kai…look at me." Tori whispered softly. Kai didn't do as she asked this time, only doing so when she made him look up at her. "You know…you are nothing like what he thinks you are?" she whispered. "Just because you two are connected by blood that doesn't mean you're like him, it doesn't mean that all he says about you is even right. You get that don't you?"

"Why are you bringing this up? Why now?!" Kai asked, lashing out at her, getting up and staring down at her.

"You'll see eventually." Tori whispered, Kai not hearing her this time. "Why do you believe he's right, Kai?"

"I don't!"

"Really? It looks like you do, you've got your pride around everyone else but inside you hate yourself, you think that all he called you is true. You think you're never good enough, that's why you don't see yourself as something worth being worried about."

Kai sat down on the bed, tears already welling up in his eyes as he tried desperately to pretend they weren't there and to keep them from falling from his eyes onto his skin. "…I…"

"You didn't know what was happening but he seemed to have hurt you pretty bad and when the nightmares started you only thought worse about yourself." Tori moved to sit at the bottom of the bed, while Kai lay back on his side, drawing back all his tears in hope she didn't notice any of them.

Unfortunately for him, she had noticed them and that was her intention the whole time, to get him to be hurt long enough for him to have no choice but to breakdown. It had sounded cruel but it was out of good intentions, he'd kill himself if he didn't confront things now and he clearly wasn't going to fix anything if he just kept running away from it.

Kai had long ago dropped the paper to the floor by the bed and Tori picked it up and scanned it over once again. "I bet I can convince you otherwise about every single insult written on here." She said after a while. "Now…wouldn't it be worse if you realized that all you criticized yourself about these past few years I have proof is false?" she asked him, looking at him.

"You win…just stop it now." Kai whispered, his voice starting to crack. Things where getting worse and he couldn't take it any longer, he just wanted her to get out, leave him alone and let him get it over with in peace.

"Not till you let it go and you aren't going to do that by yourself." Tori told him. "Kai forget what your grandfather used to say, what that other bastard used to tell you and just cry for once. It probably hurts now but you'll feel better later, everyone else does."

"I'm not everyone else."

"No…you're better than everyone else."

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" Kai asked quietly, now tears where running freely from his eyes, slipping down his cheeks and soaking the collar of his black shirt.

"Because I've come to know you Kai, we haven't known each other for too long but there are times when you just relax and be yourself, when you're yourself I learn who you are and I think that your grandfather couldn't be anymore wrong about you." Tori reached forward, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tight.

Kai pulled his hand away, having enough strength in his shaking form to do that much. "Tori…leave me alone for a while." He whispered, realizing tears started up faster.

Tori ignored his words, taking his hand again. "What I've done to you now was with good intentions but it caused a lot of pain so I'm not going to leave you alone." With those words being said she lay down against him, her back against his chest while she pulled one of his arms around her and kept a firm hold on his hand.

Kai would have tried to push her off but he couldn't, not just because he didn't have the strength to but also because he still cared about her too much to hurt her. She had hurt him horribly just now but like every other time he had to try to keep in mind that almost all she did to him was for his own good. But now, he was having trouble getting that through to himself but she was right and he hated it, in the past few weeks he had been the exact opposite of what his grandfather had ever called him and he didn't even need to try, it just came naturally to him. In seconds the tears where slipping faster and his form was shaking more, sobs getting caught in his throat which made him shake all the more.

The whole time though, he was well aware of the soothing sounds Tori made the whole time it happened as tears fell on her neck and burnt through her skin.

Tori remained quiet most of the time, just whispering soothing words to him every once in a while. After maybe an hour the whole room had gone silent and Tori turned back a bit, seeing Kai had fallen asleep finally. His eyes still had a few tears slipping from them, his eyes also red looking from the hour of crying he had but now, he just looked so peaceful now that it was all over but she had hurt him too badly. Now she wasn't sure if he'd really forgive her. He had let her stay close to him but even if he didn't let her, she would have stayed with him anyway. Now she just worried that he wouldn't care about her as much or wouldn't forgive her for all she did.

In a second she fell asleep, worrying as she always did, not caring that they had just come back from a full night of sleep. The events where emotional on both behalves and exhaustion had quickly followed.

'_Doing that to him wasn't a wise choice.' _Dranzer said to Denzelle.

'_You know as well as I do that there would have been problems…a lot of problems.'_

'_Yes but your Mistress also shouldn't have gone behind my Master's back and found out about what has happened to him.' _Dranzer reminded, anger burning the whole time.

_'I'll admit that it wasn't the best of things to do but he wasn't going to get into this by himself, and it was a last minute resort and it was done to make sure that my Mistress didn't accidentally say something that made it worse before.'_

'_Well she succeeded in making it worse didn't she?' _

'_Let's not go on with this. It's happened already, it's in the past now and there's nothing we can do about it.' _

'_You're right but we need to make sure an argument doesn't escalate over this.' _Dranzer reasoned, calming down ever so slightly.

'_How mad do you think your Master is going to be?' _Denzelle asked cautiously.

Dranzer sighed, _'I'm not too sure. There's been a change within the last few weeks so I don't always know what to expect.'_

'_That's understandable.' _Denzelle thought aloud, _'So I suppose all we can do is wait and see how this turns out.'_

'_I suppose so.'_

**---Hours Later---**

Tori still lay sleeping in Kai's arms, the worrying taking more out of her, and the closing date to her death didn't help her in the least. Kai on the other hand was awake, holding his head up with his hand as he stared over her watching her sleep for a bit. The whole time he watched her he contemplated whether she had actually tried to hurt him or try to help him and so far he still believed she only wanted to help. Dranzer had tried several times to interrupt his thoughts, always wanting to know how his Master was doing after what had happened but Kai always cut him off, saying he wanted to be alone for a while.

Dranzer worried more with that fact but left Kai alone anyway, for most of the time at least. Most of the time he was relaxed, mostly concentrating on the girl in front of him. The girl in question slowly began to stir but Kai didn't move from his position. Tori opened her eyes and just lay there for a moment, "You mad?"

Kai sat there in silence for a second before answering her question carefully, "Not too much."

Tori smiled happily with that in mind. She turned onto her back so she could look up directly at Kai, "I'm glad."

"Yeah, I'll bet."

"That…was a pretty big risk you took." Kai pointed out.

"I know…but I'd much rather you be alive and well without me than be living in misery."

"I see that but, I swear if I start crying for little things from now on…I'm blaming you!" Kai informed her with a smirk.

Tori laughed at that and placed her arms around his neck, "I'll bet you will." She said quietly. "So was crying so bad?" she asked him suddenly.

"Don't get me started on that." Kai replied, glaring lightly at her.

Again Tori laughed, after the emotional parts of the day she couldn't help but laugh, even at the littlest things. "Well to me it looks like you deserve a decent meal for once. Want me to go make you something?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair.

"How about just a slice of toast?" Kai asked quietly.

"Gah, I was hoping I could make you something better for once."

"How about a burger then?" Kai asked again, smiling kindly down at Tori.

"Sounds better." Tori smiled happily at that.

The smiles on both their faces remained fixed and silence filled the room and both just stared down at each other till the small gap between them closed in a gentle kiss. Time had stood still for those few seconds, nothing really mattered to the two teenagers, then they parted and both heard someone clearing their throat from by the door. Both glanced at the door, seeing Denzelle there, "Yes?" Kai asked, a tad annoyed for the two being interrupted and a bit embarrassed at the same time.

Denzelle shook off the annoyance and turned to look at her Mistress, "The phone has been ringing constantly, Mistress, I suggest you pick it up next time." She advised kindly.

"Sure." Tori said, almost glaring at Denzelle with that.

Denzelle bowed and quickly walked out of the room. Tori sighed and sat up a little, supporting herself by leaning back on her elbows, "I better go make you something to eat." She said.

Kai moved to the side and lay on his back so she could get off the bed but instead she leaned over him slightly and kissed him again. He smiled just a bit, pink almost showing on his once pale cheeks.

Tori smiled and got off the bed, "Take things easy." She told him, making her way to leave the room and go to the kitchen.

Kai lay back more into the soft mattress, staring at the ceiling in thought. Wondering constantly what he was going to do once she was gone and out of his life. He tried to erase the negative thoughts from his mind, thinking that everything was good at the time and he didn't want to spoil it. He got off the bed and out of his room, passing by the kitchen and settling in the living room. "You're alright?" Tori called from the kitchen.

Kai heard her through his conversation with Dranzer and tried to be quick with an answer, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Truthfully?"

"Of course." Came Kai's answer. Tori made a rather strange face at that and walked out of the kitchen, peeking into the living room to look at Kai with her suspicious glare. "I swear I'm saying the truth." He told her, once seeing her.

"You'd better be." Tori said, walking back to the kitchen, continuing to make the burgers.

"After today I know better than to ever lie to you again." Kai said, reaching for the phone as it began to ring. "Hello?"

Tori looked out of the kitchen suspiciously, Kai holding the phone just a bit away from his ear. Tori gave a questioning look at him while Kai just shrugged in reply and handed her the phone. "Hello?" she asked. Her eyes widened a bit and she bit down on her lip trying to suppress a small laugh, "Hey mom."

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short, the computer broke down and I had to wait till I was here at my uncle's place to finish. Exams start Tuesday but I'll try update soon. **

**This chapter was a tad eventful, maybe some of you found the need to cry weird but its all true. I'd explain it to you in more detail but I have school tomorrow and I need to go to bed but I wanted to get this chapter up soon or else I'll never get around to it and all you lovely readers would be disappointed with me if I didn't update soon. So please review and I will try update faster. Thanks for reading! **


	16. But You Won't Be Here

_**Chapter Dedicated To: **EpitomeOfMisery. I've been a fan of her work for quite a long time now and have gotten addicted to her writing and she seems to be liking this fic so I thought I'd dedicate a chapter to her, not to mention the fact that she's a good friend so sooner or later I was going to dedicate a chapter to her, I guess it's sooner rather than later._

_**Chapter 16**_

Tori finished up her fifteen phone conversation in the kitchen while she finished up cooking. Kai listened to the conversation the whole time from the living room, wondering what they're were talking about. Tori walked into the living room, handed Kai his food and sat down next to him with her own, ending the call with her mom and placing the phone back onto the table. "Something tells me I didn't make a very good impression with your dad." Kai said wincing slightly.

"I'm his only daughter, dieing daughter might I add. I'm half way across the world, where he doesn't know what's happening and a guy he doesn't know just picked up my phone at 6 in the evening."

"Damn, now that you put it that way it really is bad." Kai muttered.

Tori laughed before beginning to take a bite of her burger. Once done chewing and swallowing she turned to him slightly, "Don't worry much, I'll try have it sorted though you might want to make plans for yourself for next week." She said before taking another bite.

"How come?"

"My parents are coming to visit me and stay her for about two weeks. They won't be able to stay here in my last month so they're coming next week instead." Tori replied casually.

"They too busy for their dieing daughter?" Kai asked bitterly.

Tori smiled a bit, "No, I'm glad that they're not staying here. I've been following them around all my life, now at least I'm away from them and…I don't need more time to be with them."

"Sounds like you love them soooo much." Kai said sarcastically, smirking down at her.

"Hey, I do love my parents." Tori pouted lightly at that.

Kai smiled, "You probably do. I'll bet you're lucky to have them."

"Yeah they're great and all but dad's way too protective." Tori said, elongating the 'way.'

"Like you said, you're his little girl, why shouldn't he be worried?"

Tori looked at him strangely at that, suddenly glancing down at his plate where his burger hadn't been touched. "Stop stalling and get eating." She scolded, getting up with her empty plate and walking into the kitchen.

Kai groaned and turned to his food, as always not in the mood for a big meal. He sighed, hearing Tori go to her bedroom he was left alone to eat his food so he couldn't stall any longer.

**---A Little Later---**

Tori sat on the sofa next to Kai with a sigh, looking up at him a bit while he stared at the ground. She looked up at him strangely, cocking her head to the side a bit; a pout on her face as she tried to understand what was going on. "Did I miss something important?" She broke the silence in the room.

Kai looked at her quickly, eyes holding a bit of confusion. "No, sorry, just spaced out for a minute."

"Something's wrong?" Tori asked quietly, moving closer.

"No, nothing. Trust me, I would have told you by now."

"After today, I'd hope so." Tori nodded in agreement.

Kai didn't comment on that, just kept staring in front of him for a bit and not taking much more interest to the girl who sat worriedly beside him.

"Kai…I'm really sorry for what I did to you today."

"It doesn't matter." Came Kai's honest answer.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Tori sighed a bit. Her arm went across his stomach and stroked his bare shoulder with the back of her fingers, her warm skin against his cold pale one. Chills ran quickly down Kai's spine at that touch, his shoulders particularly sensitive after all the abuse he put them through back when he used to cut them up. The young girl grew tired, Kai noticing he pulled an arm around her and let her rest against him. Her soothing strokes continued subconsciously till she fell asleep when her hand fell away completely.

Kai just sat there for a few minutes, sometimes glancing down at the girl, making sure she was comfortable. Resting his head back and in a couple of minutes he joined her in sleeping, a peaceful sleep on the most part.

About two hours or so into their sleep, Kai woke up with a bit of a start at the shaking that happened next to him. Tori shook violently, a pain-tainted look carved onto her face as tears welled up in her eyes and her hands went to her aching head. Her eyelashes where soaked as her salty tears slid from under her eyelids and down her pale cheeks. "Hey…Tori. Wake up." Kai called quietly, shaking her by her shoulders slightly.

With those few shakes Tori opened her eyes ever so slightly but they kept screwing themselves shut again from the pain in her head.

Kai slowed down and stopped shaking her but instead focused on keeping her awake and conscious till her pain subsided. He let her rest back a bit, in the mean time getting a cold cloth and a glass of water, dabbing the wet cloth against her forehead even though it made it almost impossible with her movement. Tori's breathing was still labored and her shaking slowly settled down, her pain passed just a bit, though still making her release a couple of winces. "Kai…" She breathed, "Don't worry." She whispered weakly, smiling lightly.

"It's almost time, Tori." Kai whispered, his heart beat quickening with his words.

"I know it is." Tori fell forward into Kai's arms, lifting herself up a bit and placing a quick kiss on his lips. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"You're going to die!" Kai said, a bit angrily.

Tori pushed herself back and rested her head back too, "I don't need to be reminded." She smiled.

Kai sighed and sat beside her again, "What am I going to do?" he asked, more himself than Tori.

"Stop worrying for starters." Tori lay down on one side of the sofa, curling up in a ball to keep warm.

"I can't do that."

"Just don't worry bout what's going to happen, it'll pass with some time and you've got Denzelle for help." Tori spoke quietly and trailed off back to her peaceful sleep.

Kai sat forward, his head resting in his hands, pain burning through his heart and he became dizzy. He just shrugged it off and sat back again, lying behind Tori and pulling a blanket over them and through his blurred vision kept an eye on her till he too fell asleep.

**---Next Day---**

Kai opened his eyes, quietly glancing around the room from his lying position. Tori wasn't in front of him anymore and if he remembered correctly he had been sleeping with his head on the arm rest, but when he woke up he found he had his pillow there instead and was in a bit more comfortable position than when he had slept. He sat up a bit, the blanket falling off a bit, sending the cold wind against the skin of his arms, making him shudder at the contact. Tori walked in, wearing her school uniform with her black bag in hand. "Hey…slept well?" she asked.

"Yeah, quite. What time is it?" Kai rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, still feeling the need to go lay back down.

"Almost one, you slept all night and all morning, quite peacefully might I add."

Kai listened intently to that, staring at the ground for a bit while pushing himself up to a better sitting position.

"I went to my classes and you slept past the phone ringing you know?"

"Sorry." Kai whispered, turning away from her.

"It's alright but I've got some bad news…"

"You…" Kai started, turning back to her quickly.

"No. There was an accident at the Dojo; Max fell down the stairs this morning." Tori explained, sitting on the arm rest.

"What?! How is he?"

"Well he's at the hospital at the moment, just a twisted ankle but he's got a pretty bad hit on the head so he's staying there for a couple of hours."

"How'd it happen?"

"Not sure but I'm going to go out now, I want to buy him something to cheer him up then go see him in the hospital." Tori smiled. "You want to come with me?" she asked quickly, shooting up off the sofa.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just go change." Kai got off the sofa and walked down the hall to his bedroom.

As he walked Tori noticed him shake his head a bit in confusion while Tori smiled a bit at that, he felt different, she knew it.

Tori and Kai just left the apartment, saying nothing to each other since the talk in the living room. Tori had had enough of the silence between them and was in need to say something to break the uncomfortable silence they had, "So what do you think we should get him?" she asked.

"I don't know. You think of something." Kai replied, almost monotonously.

"Kai…" Tori whined.

"Well, it's Max, just get him some chocolate and he's happy."

"I'm serious." Tori continued in the same upset and whining voice, a small smile on her face.

"So am I." Kai laughed.

Tori laughed at that, punching Kai's shoulder lightly. "I was thinking of getting him something instead of candy."

"Think of something then."

"_You've_ known him longer."

"Yet you talk to him more."

"That's probably true but it's strange, all he says about you is great stuff."

Kai looked at her strangely, confusedly most of all, "Really?"

"Yeah, you two good friends?"

"He is a friend but not like we're that close or anything."

"So how do you see your team mates?" Tori asked as they walked on, glancing in shop windows once in a while in case she saw something good to buy Max.

"What's with the weird questions?" Kai asked hurriedly, a smirk on his face.

"What's wrong with that question?"

"Nothing wrong with it, it's just strange."

"I'm curious."

"Alright…" Kai started with a deep breath, "Ray's probably the most mature of the lot, probably the closest person you can talk to if you're looking for a decent conversation." He said, "Max…well Max is a bit more child like but he's alright to talk to once in a while."

"Yeah he seems like the little brother of the team too."

"Yeah that's true and so I'm pretty defensive when it comes to him, since him and Tyson like to tease a lot and Tyson takes it a bit too far."

Tori smiled at that, "And I'll bet you anything that's how Max ended up in the hospital."

"Why would I not be surprised?" Kai asked, shaking his head with that in mind.

"What about Tyson?" Tori asked.

"An annoying brat with an ego the size of Russia."

Tori laughed, "Anything nice about him?"

"Not really." Kai shook his head.

"You're so kind." The other teenager said sarcastically.

"I try."

"I see that."

The two teenagers walked along the streets joking with each other for quite some time while looking around a few shops that Tori pointed out. Kai kept walking, not realizing that Tori had stopped and walked into another small shop, looking around at books and figurines but after one thing that she had seen in the window. Her eyes settled on a white wooden music box with great interest, in a bit of a trance as she picked it up. She ran her finger along the gold painted edges and corners before pulling the lid up slowly, she smiled a bit, hearing the soft tune that played.

Being so much in a trance by the music she hadn't noticed Kai had caught up with her and now stood behind her. Once the music finished Tori placed the box back down and turned round to walk back out but walked straight into Kai instead. She blushed bright red and whispered a quiet, "Sorry."

Kai smirked at the sight of her blush and stepped out of the way and followed her out of the shop.

After a few more minutes of walking, Tori had picked out a big book for Max, one on Tokyo landscaping which was filled with pictures rather than a plain book filled with texts. Of course she picked up on Kai's suggestion on getting Max chocolate too, her reason for agreeing being that hospital food tasted horrible and she wanted Max to survive being stuck on a bed. "Hey, are you going to be alright over there?" Tori asked Kai as they made their way up to the hospital.

"Yeah. As long as you don't make me see a doctor I'm going to be fine." Kai replied, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stared, a bit nervously, at the ground.

Tori moved closer to Kai, holding the bag with the sweets and book in one hand, her other arm hooked onto Kai's and she leant against him a bit, giving him a kind and reassuring smile. "Don't worry. After last night, I'm cutting you some slack. And besides, my parents are here next week so if I think you need a doctor there's going to be two living with me."

Kai groaned at that, already feeling uneasiness rise in him, "That sounds too much like a threat."

"It wasn't intentional. I just mean that if things get that bad then you can still be checked out and don't need to worry bout the hospital or other people finding out."

Kai didn't reply, keeping silent while they went up to Max's room on the second floor. Just outside the room Tori gave Kai a quick kiss before opening the door and walking inside.

On seeing the two bladers Max cheered up more and smiled happily at the two. "Hey!" He greeted.

"Something tells me we shouldn't have gotten him chocolate." Tori muttered with a smile. She walked over to him and gave the injured boy a hug before placing the bags in front of him. "Pictures and chocolate, enjoy." She said with humor in her voice.

"Hey, thanks!"

Tori sat down on the chair beside Max, exchanging hellos with the other two teenagers that sat there too while from the corner of her eye she saw Kai at the back of the room by himself.

A doctor had passed by Max's room after a while, talking to them about what they knew so far. They concluded that Max could only have a mild concussion but for the next few hours he'd need to stay awake since it was common that after a head injury, while sleeping the person could slip into a coma so staying awake for a couple of hours would assure that that didn't happen. So all stayed there to make sure that Max didn't fall asleep or anything and all tried their best to keep Max in a good mood, since they all knew that with Max being forced to stay in one place wasn't going to be any good for him.

Tori's eye caught something just outside the door, seeing Doctor Toketu, her current doctor, outside and staring at her sit there. Tori sat forward in her chair and glared coldly at him and with that he took it as a signal to leave her alone. Kai had noticed her glaring at something and he had taken a look beside him, clearly seeing the doctor that stood outside the door. Once he saw the doctor leave he turned to Tori with a questioning look but Tori just gave him a reassuring smile and nod like she usually did and it seemed like almost everything was better. Almost everything at least.

In Tori's mind it seemed as though nothing were wrong with her and in her opinion, dieing was no big deal but to Kai it was now a big deal. He had gotten close to her in a small amount of time. He knew her for a total of about five months so far but the first few where he stayed away from her, fought her, he did that for so long that it made it even easier for his barriers to fall after that. A part of himself really did hate himself for getting close to her when he had swore he wouldn't do that, when he was taught never to get close to anyone. But now, a part of him really did enjoy being around her, feeling like someone cared about him when it seemed like no one else did. True, he did have his friends but it's as though he didn't take them into account until she pointed them out to him and made him understand why they did what they did.

He admitted, he didn't really like a lot of things that happened. Like the day before, he hated what she had done to him but after a while of thinking about it he realized that if he didn't start dealing with the little things, he could never let go of all the things that ever happened to him. He hated being forced into being helped but if he was really true to himself he would have known that he wasn't going to try to recover by himself. He did need help, he just didn't know the road to recovery would be so painful. But probably, the most painful part of it is that…the one person that tried to help him recover, the one that pushed him far enough to try to recover and take some risks would die soon and if his recovery worked out she wouldn't be around to see it. So the question is, what's the point of changing if the person helping you isn't even going to be around to see the result?

The only answer to that he could possibly come up with was that he wanted the change for himself too. He was sick and tired of being haunted by nightmares of a past in a dark dingy abbey, getting beaten every night. He hated being bound by all the things that his demented grandfather and twisted mentor had hard wired into his mind and soul, who would want to be tied down by rules that made no sense? Rules that keep you from doing everything that makes a person human and lets them feel like they're real. He wasn't allowed to do that…he wasn't allowed to feel like a human being, he was made to feel like something that didn't exist, something that was made only to be used.

Even with just those thoughts, they'd make almost anyone feel pain, even him. Even though he was taught not to feel certain emotions he still did and with the thoughts that he had been bound by rules and used by his own blood, his heart beat quickened immensely, his heart feeling heavier in his chest and tears would have entered his eyes if it weren't for the reminder to himself that everyone else was in the room and he couldn't have them seeing him cry, not yet at least.

"Kai! Kai…are you alright?"

A soft voice saying those words cut through his thoughts and his head shot up to look at Tori and the others all facing him. "What did you say?" He asked, not originally hearing all that was asked of him apart from hearing his name being called.

"Are you alright?" Tori asked, breaking down the question.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kai answered all their worried gazes in a soft and quiet raspy voice.

"Come sit down." Max said, indicating to a chair that had been pulled up to the other side of the bed.

Kai took in each of their caring looks and did what was asked, sitting on the chair beside the bed and resting his arms against one side of the bed, too exhausted to sit back straight.

"Are you sure you're alright Kai?" Ray asked curiously.

"Ray, leave Kai alone. He's just tired is all." Tori cut in.

Kai looked up a bit, "She's right and you don't need to worry."

"You spaced out for a really long time though." Tyson pointed out.

"You do the same if you don't sleep at night." Kai retorted coldly.

"Hey, you two, let's go get something to eat from downstairs." Tori interrupted again, talking to Ray and Tyson. She tried her best to keep Kai out of the discussion, hoping to stress him out a little less than he was already looking just by sitting there.

"Sure!" Tyson shot up quickly and happily, making a quicker break for the door.

"Why not? Tyson's already gone anyway." Ray laughed, following Tyson out the door, in less of a rush than the other teen though.

Tori shot Kai a quick look while Kai nodded in thanks and just got back to resting against the bed. Sitting there, thinking calmly till another voice cut through his thoughts again, breaking through them to listen to the speaker with no other choice. "Kai are you sure you're alright? You're not looking too well." Max said quietly. Of all the team he was most probably the most careful when talking to Kai. Tyson would straight out ask about something before giving it another thought, Ray would ask as quickly and harshly if he felt it were urgent. Max on the other hand was careful, always quiet when he asked and he always made sure that he didn't hurt Kai with his words like the others tended to do with the coldness in their voices.

Kai smiled a bit at the youngest blader, "Don't worry, I'm fine, Max."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Max grinned happily, "So how are things with Tori?" he asked suddenly.

Kai looked up at him quickly, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at him, "What do you mean?"

"You two aren't fighting anymore." Max pointed out, "And since you're staying at her place you two must be getting along."

Kai took a deep breath and smirked, "Yeah well we still argue but at least there I've got less chance of an argument ending up like the one I had with Tyson."

"That's true and it must be great spending time with her, she's really nice."

"She's alright."

"Hey Kai, fool the others but I'm not blind."

"What are you on about?" Kai asked, almost fearfully.

"You like her!" Max shouted in Kai's face with a grin on his face.

Kai shot up quickly, clapping a hand over Max's mouth. Changing Max's mind on an opinion like that was almost impossible so he didn't deny it, "Be quiet." He said, letting go when Max nodded.

"So it's true?"

Kai groaned, sitting back in his chair. "Yeah."

"Well that's great then!" Max said hurriedly.

"Don't you dare mention this to the others." Kai threatened with a death glare.

The blonde boy on the bed laughed, "Don't worry Kai, secrets safe with me."

Kai nodded thankfully, breathing a sigh of relief at that.

"So she's more than alright to you then huh?"

"Fine, she's great, like you all think but that probably makes it harder."

"That she has to die right?" Max asked.

"Yeah."

"Well Kai, you weren't with us but the others and I made a pact that when she's gone we're going to help each other out with it."

"I know…" Kai started quietly.

"And yes, we're all going to be hurt when she's gone but we stuck together through all our other rough times, this is just one more we can get through together."

Kai smiled and looked up at Max, "It's only you that can keep things together like this huh?"

Max began to laugh, happy to see his captain smiling because of something he had said. "Don't worry, Kai."

"That's hard isn't it?"

"Yeah but you'll manage."

"Yeah, maybe I will."

**---That Evening---**

The whole team was gathered in Max's room. Max was allowed home though he stayed sitting on his bed while the others stayed with him to talk for a bit and keep him some company. They ordered food and didn't leave the room till they all knew Max was full and had fallen asleep. It was 10pm and after the long day for all of them they planned to leave and go to bed. "Hey Kai, aren't you staying here tonight?" Tyson asked on his way to his room.

"…No I'm staying at Tori's." Kai replied hesitantly before walking down the stairs.

Tori smiled towards Tyson and Tyson nodded before going to his room but Ray stayed behind. "Is he alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah, he's going to be ok." Tori replied with her usual smile.

"Alright. Take care of yourself, Tori." Ray told her.

"You too, Ray." Tori said quietly, after that making her way down the stairs.

Ray watched after her, watching her leave was almost like watching the girl disappear before his very eyes when she left so slowly. He shook his head, opened his bedroom door and stepped inside, taking his mind off the female trainer.

Kai and Tori met at the bottom of the stairs and they left together. Under the dark sky and the light of the moon that shone over them, illuminating their path way as they made their way to go to the apartment. Tori took Kai's hand and looked up at him a bit, "Are you alright?" she whispered, her soft voice almost being carried away with the wind.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm fine." Tori smiled, turning back to where she was walking. "It was a fun day." She whispered again.

"Yeah and Max found out about us." Kai said with a smile.

"You told him?" Tori laughed in surprise.

"No, he found out by himself."

"So it was that obvious?" Tori asked.

"I don't know really, I think he was the only one that found out about the three."

"Yeah, most probably."

"Damn he's a smart kid." Kai cursed as they walked up the stairs to the apartment.

"It could have been worse." Tori said optimistically.

"How?"

"It could've been Tyson and he would've teased you about it."

"How did I not remember that?" Kai asked himself.

"Maybe 'cause you're losing your mind." Tori joked, sticking her tongue out at him.

Kai glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow at her, "I'd blame you for that."

They both laughed and settled in the apartment again. Tori went straight to her room and changed, coming back to Kai and joining him in his room. Tori jumped on Kai's bed and got under the covers on the other side of the bed, "Hey what are you doing?" Kai asked, smirking at her actions.

"Sleeping in your bed." Tori answered casually, lying under the covers and resting her head on the pillow.

"May I ask why?"

Tori rested her head in her hands on her elbows and pouted, "Why not?" she asked.

Kai groaned at the look on her face before getting under the covers and lying down. "Good night." He told her coldly before turning off the light.

"Sweet dreams." Tori whispered, her hot breath tickling Kai's face and neck with a small kiss on the cheek accompanying the warm feeling.

**---Hours Later---**

Kai had had about 5 hours sleep so far but now he was awake, lying on his side and staring intently at Tori as she lay sleeping soundly. He took a deep breath, the thoughts of the dieing girl frightening him like they always did.

**_---Flashback---_**

_6:30am and a thin figure jogged through the streets. The early morning sun shining on her long auburn hair that was pulled back tightly. She ran round a corner, accidentally bumping into someone, pushing her back but she gripped the wall and caught her balance. "Watch where you're going!" he shot angrily, walking past the startled girl._

"_I'm sorry." She whispered, watching the boy walk away._

_**---End Flashback---**_

That was the first time he ever heard her speak, the first time he saw her face in the early morning sky. It was crazy to think, that even before they knew who the other was, the two of them where already yelling at each other. A couple of days later, he remembered seeing her again in Mr Dickinson's office and you wouldn't even suspect that anything was wrong with her. He didn't even like her, he didn't think anything of her actually.

The first time they battled, it wasn't even all that special but they had tied anyway. Even in a fist fight, she managed to make him lose at her hands, most likely because she had noticed that something was wrong with him from the start. Then again, at the beginning she didn't like him that much either and not understanding why he was that way.

_**---Flashback---**_

_Tori turned before entering, watching them leave, sighing she walked inside, looking everywhere for the stoic captain, finding him in the kitchen. She walked up next to him but he still ignored her, not even glancing at her. "Sorry bout that." She whispered, tracing her index finger over the ripped fibres of his jacket. Kai still ignored her, not saying a word as he poured out a cold glass of water. "Just out of random curiosity…are you going to ignore me all day?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She still didn't get a reply after he drank his water and he just walked back outside without a word, "Yeah, that's what I thought." She said, following him out. "Anyway, if you're not going to answer me than at least listen to my orders. The others have to run laps from here to the beach, numerous times, you only have to twice but wait down by the beach and make sure they're stay out of trouble till I get there."_

_**---End Flashback---**_

He had done to her what he did to everyone else, gave her the cold shoulder and ignored her the whole time, got into some argues. Even when they had agreed to trying to get along for the sake of the team, he still planned to be the way he always was with everyone and didn't even have that much hope for their friendship at all. So he was wrong, looking back on everything they had been through together, his pain, her pain, everything.

_**---Flashback---**_

_Kai was about to walk right past her but he heard her whisper a quiet 'sit.' He was planning on ignoring her, pretending he didn't hear what she said, already knowing what she was going to talk to him about. His pause made she knew he had heard her so there was no sense trying to ignore her and no sense running. He sat beside her, his hand behind him for support as he pretended that his wrist didn't hurt._

"_What happened over there?" She asked quietly, watching as the beybattle unfolded in front of her._

"_Just got dizzy that's all." He lied, not looking at her._

"_That's all it was?" Tori asked._

"_Yeah."_

_**---End Flashback---**_

She always covered for him, no matter what happened and what he did to her and that was something great since even when he slipped up, he never wanted the others to know and she was kind to his pride in keeping it all a secret.

_**---Flashback---**_

_Kai shook his head slowly, feeling another intense headache coming on at the sudden movement._

"_Well you collapsed again."_

"_How……?" Kai began to ask._

"_How long?" Tori asked, rephrasing what he was trying to say. "All night and its 2pm now." She answered._

"_The…others…"_

"_They're all fine, a little worried but fine."_

"_I'm not…asking how they are…I'm asking if they're practicing." Kai said, exhaustedly shutting his eyes again._

_Tori laughed, with Kai, something's never changed and in ways, it was a good thing, "How nice of you to show so much concern for them." She informed with a laugh, "They're practicing hard and doing well." She answered the earlier question. "You aren't going to tell us what happened are you?" She asked him, moving off the chair to sit on his bed._

_Kai didn't answer, just turned his head away from her and opened his eyes to stare out the window._

_Tori smiled caringly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "It's alright." She told him._

_**---End Flashback---**_

He never even used to let people get close to him and now not to mention that she was in his bed. Things where never like that, he never used to let anyone next to him, get close to him or touch him but she managed to break through to him. He had a ton of bad memories of her too, all her pushiness, her threats, the orders she gave the others, especially Ray. He didn't dare go through all those memories though, he had little time with her left and he wanted to enjoy that time and not dwell on all the bad things but focus on all she helped him with.

His hand reached out from under the warm covers and pushed back a strand of auburn hair that had fallen over Tori's face. From there he stroked her cheek softly, then down the side of her neck but stopping and quickly pulling away when the girl's eyes slowly opened. "Sorry." He whispered quietly, blushing a bit that he had been caught.

She had just woken up and she was already smiling, "Don't be," She whispered back, "It felt kinda nice actually." She added.

Kai smiled and moved his hand back and continued stroking her neck. Tori closed her eyes, the smile on her face bigger as she enjoyed the soft feeling along her neck and back. She moved herself closer to him and Kai stopped, making Tori open her eyes to look at him. He shyly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer towards him, watching Tori smile at him kindly. Tori rested against Kai, Kai taking in the scent of her hair while also concentrating on the soft lines Tori traced along his shoulder. Why dwell on all the bad things that where still to come? The two only focused on the present, the present contained each other and that's how it was going to be for at least a little while longer.

Unfortunately Tori hit a sensitive spot on Kai's shoulder and she noticed that when he winced and his hand shot to his shoulder where she had touched him. "That still hurts?" Tori asked quietly, sitting up a bit. Kai nodded in reply, turning on his back and closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

"You weren't supposed to." Kai smirked.

Tori moved even closer to him and lay a soft kiss on his hand that covered his shoulder before lying down again. "Don't keep hiding your pain from me." She told him.

"I can't go too fast with this."

"I know but you need to tell me if something's wrong or if you're hurt, that way I know what not to do to hurt you more."

Kai's head shot to the side and he half glared at her and raised an eyebrow at her.

Tori hit him gently on the head, "Alright so what happened two days ago doesn't count but you know what I mean." She said in a scolding tone.

"Yeah, lucky for me I do."

**A/N: A nice long chapter that I put so much hard work into, worth a small review isn't it? Well as you can probably see I put a lot of hard work and thought into this chapter and I'd like an opinion on it. I know that maybe this chapter makes the fic look like its over but it's far from it. Please review and I'll update as soon as I can.**


	17. Time To Change And Deal

_**Chapter 17**_

Tori lay on her back, staring at the ceiling for a while. Kai was in deep thought in the meantime so Tori decided to leave that to him till he decided to talk again. Kai turned onto his side to look at Tori properly, sadness was heavily filling his eyes while he did so and his voice came out shaking, "Tori…"

"Yeah?" Tori asked, turning her head to look at him.

"What you did last time…you aren't going to do that to me again are you?"

Tori smiled lightly, turning on her side. Kai watched cautiously as she lifted her hand from the covers her index finger brushed lightly against his cheek, picking something up at that. "It looks like I don't have to." She pointed out, feeling the warm tear drop that was on her finger and dripped lightly onto the covers.

Kai stared on at that, his hand subconsciously touching his cheek, feeling the hot drops stroll down from his eyes he quickly rubbed them out of his eyes while sitting up. "I can't have this keep happening to me." He whispered icily.

Tori sat up and sat beside him, keeping her eyes set on him the whole time. "Why not?"

"I just can't."

Tori shook her head, "You are human though and that'll happen when it has to."

Kai got up, suddenly frustrated and fed up with himself. He walked out of the room quickly and went to the bathroom, being sure to shut the door tightly behind him. Settling himself on the ground against the door he just drew his knees up to his chest and stayed like that, sometimes thinking about things in particular, sometimes just thinking about nothing at all, just staring at the cold white tilled floors he sat on.

Holding back any tears this time wasn't really a problem since none decided to come anymore so he just sat there quietly, sometimes not being aware of his own emotions, the ones he himself was feeling or the one's he was meant to be feeling at least. Meanwhile he kept note of the shuffling of feet outside the door. Tori had past by the room twice but thankfully didn't bother checking on Kai at the time, thinking he needed some time to be alone.

She really did think that he was already starting to feel different, who wouldn't? After all those years of carrying the burden of a horrible past, one not truly revealed yet, anyone would start feeling different after that, better in a sense but feeling better always comes with strange emotions attached to it due to past thoughts and character and this was Kai's.

Taking a deep breath, where Kai hoped so much that the horrible uneasiness in his stomach would subside after, he got off the ground and walked out of the bathroom he had kept himself locked in for the past hour or so. He walked into the kitchen, watching Tori put breakfast on a tray before she turned to him, no real emotion in her eyes but no hatred in them either.

Kai sighed, yet again, and turned away from her for a second before turning back to her, "I'm sorry." He whispered guiltily.

Tori smiled up at him, a smile that sort of was sympathetic towards the older boy, "I wasn't mad."

"Maybe you weren't but it's only been a couple of days and this is complicated and…"

In a hurry, Tori put a finger to his lips to silence him, "Kai…you're great and all but even you aren't great enough to explain all you're feeling, just yet at least." She informed quietly.

"Tori…" Kai started again.

"Be quiet for once would you?" Tori asked. Kai shifted uncomfortably and nodded just slightly at her orders, "Things in your mind are pretty messed up right about now."

And to that, Kai muttered a quiet, "That's for sure."

Though Tori continued anyway, she had heard his quiet words. "It's tough, I'll bet anything it is but you got to take some changes in and do it calmly."

"Tori, I can't handle this, especially around the others and your time is almost up so…"

"Kai…you're ranting again." Tori whispered with a smile. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly, "I'm going to be around long enough to help you with this…I promise you that much."

Kai took in each of her words carefully and nodded in understanding.

"Go into the living room, relax a bit and I'll get you something to eat. Is that alright?" Tori asked carefully.

"Yeah." Kai said even quieter than there whole conversation had been, followed by him walking out the door and into the living room.

Tori remained in the kitchen for a few minutes, sometimes adding food and drinks to the tray and sometimes just standing there in thought or having a conversation with Denzelle about Kai. Either way, she was always busy with something and Kai being on her mind at the same time ended up in making her head begin to hurt. She calmed herself down as best she could and walked into the next room with the tray of food and coffee.

"How are you feeling?" Tori asked, jumping onto the sofa next to Kai.

"Fine, shaken up, but fine." Kai replied.

Tori smiled a bit at him, passing him his coffee. "Don't worry about it, alright?" she said with a comforting tone in her sweet voice.

"This is hopeless." Kai muttered coldly.

Tori shot at him in a bit of a scolding tone but still kept her voice at a reasonable level. "It certainly is if you keep up with an attitude like that." She pointed out, a bit harsher than she had intended that to have sounded. "Think a bit positively for once." She advised.

"Wish me luck." Came Kai's cold and rather sarcastic sounding answer.

Tori sighed and when both of them usually felt this way she just cuddled up beside him on the sofa. "You'll be alright in the end Kai, don't worry."

"I'm not worrying."

"Yeah, you are. You're worrying and you're also making yourself sick over this."

"I'm not." Kai said stubbornly.

"You win." Tori rolled her eyes at that before picking up a mug of hot tea and sipping it quietly.

"Thank you." Kai answered her passively before drinking his own coffee.

"Yeah well I need to try salvage what's left of your pride, don't I?" Tori joked with a large smile on her face.

"Good luck with that."

"What's that mean?"

"Nothing."

Tori sat up a bit, moving away from him slightly while raising an eyebrow at him, "You want me to leave you alone?" she asked.

"Of course not." Kai answered quickly, giving her a strange and confused look.

"Good, 'cause I don't want to." Tori whispered, getting back to her past position, curling up close beside him.

"Then just go and come back."

"Eh?"

"The hospital, just go, get the surgery done and come back safely." Kai said. The way he put it, he just made it sound like it were that easy. Then again, was it?

"It's not that simple, Kai." Tori said quietly, sadness in her voice.

"Isn't it?"

"No, it isn't. I've got to go there, have a check up, plan the surgery, have the surgery and with one slip up I could lose the little bit that's left of my life and that's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"So I've noticed."

"Kai, stop worrying about what's going to happen and just let it go."

"I'll stick to the worrying, thanks." Kai said, frustrated.

Tori moved away from him a bit, picking up her mobile phone from the table while busying herself by sending a quick text to Ray. "Have something to eat." She told him sternly.

"I'm not in the mood." Kai retorted emotionlessly.

Tori sighed at that and gritted her teeth a bit, "And I'm not in the mood to argue with you but at this rate it looks like it's going to come to that."

Kai sighed and stood up, walking across the room to leave the living room but sadly that got cut short as he fell forward onto the ground. He lay with his head turned to the side, burning on the side of his face from hitting the ground. He slammed his fists onto the wooden floor and groaned in annoyance and impatience.

Tori sat forward a bit in her seat, hands resting against her knees as she watched him try to get up, "Are you alright?" Came her called out words, surprisingly with very little concern in her voice.

"I'm fine." Kai answered back, wincing as he finally got off the ground and rested against the doorframe.

"How long do you want to keep trying to convince yourself that?"

"I'm fine." The Stoic Russian repeated angrily. Said Russian walked out of the room after not hearing a word coming from the other girl in the room. He stepped into his bedroom, pulling off his white t-shirt he had slept with the night before, tossing it aside onto a chair that was in the corner of his room. He picked up his mp3 player from his bedside table, putting on the headphones and blasting the music off into his ears, and placing the player in his trousers pocket and picked up a black shirt from the bag of clothes he kept on the floor beside his bed.

Due to the loud music, Kai didn't hear Tori walk slowly up behind him to where he stood, trying to straighten out his shirt before he actually wore it. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her chin against his back, looking over his shoulder to see him.

Kai stood there a bit startled, freezing in the position he was in while not making any attempt to push the girl away from him. He felt her hand move up his side and take off one of the headphones, quickly followed by the second one that both just ended up falling by his sides. "Kai…" Tori whispered quietly.

"What?"

"Be honest, how are you feeling?"

With her words, not being able to give an answer, he tried to pull out of her arms but she was stronger than expected and he wasn't about to hurt her to get away from her.

"Don't fight me, you should know better than to try that." Tori told him, "Just try to tell me, what you do know at least."

Kai took a deep breath, clearing his mind before thinking through to decipher each and every thought and emotion that overwhelmed him. After only a minute of thinking he slowly opened his mouth to speak, "Like I can't breath, I thought things will get easier but I can't take all these things going on around me now."

"It'll get easier and painless, don't worry too much about any of it, just take it a bit a time and you'll manage and you're not alone."

"Aren't I? You're going to die in just over a month and from then on I'm back to being by myself."

"What about your friends?"

"What about them?! Talking to them about these things isn't the same as…"

"Talking to me?" Tori asked, a bit of disbelief in her voice, wetness glazing her eyes a bit as she continued to look at him from over his shoulder.

"It's nothing like talking to you." Kai whispered, eyes set in front of him, rather than looking at the girl who had her hold on him, physically and emotionally. At his words Tori's arms fell from around him and Kai moved away, pulling his shirt on before turning to her. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek as she stood there a bit startled, "I'm going out for a while, I'll see you later." He told her before leaving the room.

Tori sat on the ground, sitting back against the side of the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest, resting her thin arms on her knees. "Maybe…" she whispered hoarsely.

"Mistress…" Denzelle called from by the door, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." A small smile suddenly gracing Tori's lips. Tori stood up and walked past Denzelle and into her bedroom. She locked the door of her bedroom and stayed in the large, almost empty room by herself, taking in the whole sorry sight of her room which made it looked like she never existed, no justice at all.

**---Two Hours Later--- **

Tori was ready dressed to go meet the others, only now she was waiting for Kai. She paced by the door, with high hopes that Kai would be home soon. After a few more minutes of waiting, Kai walked through the door, looking down at her a bit confused. "Hey, are you alright?" Tori asked quietly.

"Yeah." Kai was quick to answer and walked past her to his bedroom so she wouldn't see the water in his eyes.

By her calls though, it seemed like she had seen it all anyway and walked behind him to his room. "Hey honey, what's wrong?" she asked.

Kai quickly turned to her, eyes blazing with anger through the moisture in the crimson pools, "If I fall over just one more time, I'm going to kill myself." He whispered, his voice sounding broken as it was.

Tori smiled a bit, almost sympathetically. She pulled her arms around him in a light hug, "Your body is running low on food, that's why it's happening and the stress isn't helping. We'll get some food in you when we get to Tyson's place, just enough to keep you standing during training, alright?"

"Sure." Kai pulled away from her after that, while Tori kept one arm wrapped around his waist as they walked out of the apartment.

The walk to the Dojo was silent, only Tori's occasional question of 'are you ok?' and Kai's quiet answers or groans. When there, Kai sat outside on the porch, saying he couldn't handle being inside just yet and needed some space before training. Tori was able to understand that and just went inside without him to greet the others in the kitchen. She had met with everyone who was already awake, surprisingly even Tyson.

She stayed with them for a quiet conversation, only staying for a few minutes before taking some food, her last words being that they had to be out there in fifteen minutes for training. She walked outside, settling down beside Kai, handing the plate to him. "Eat a little." She told him.

Kai placed the plate by his side and took a muffin off the plate, apparently Tori had chosen the stuff that had the most sugar in it, most likely the stuff that could help him run longer. He finished all the food one the plate in little time, obviously being hungry but taking his time in hopes of not feeling sick after.

Tori pulled an arm around him carefully, a gentle hand resting on his side where Kai tensed up the most. "Are you up for training?" she asked him.

"Yes."

"Are you sure of that?" Tori tightened her hold on him a bit, putting a little pressure on him.

Kai's eyes widened a bit in pain before screwing shut and gripping her hand, "Yes, I'm sure."

Troi sighed and let go of him, "I'll take your word for it. Just tell me if you need to stop or leave."

Kai nodded before resting forward with his head against his arms. He heard Tori get up and walk back inside, then heard footsteps on the porch again before he felt Tori sit close to him again. The others joined her out there after a few minutes, apparently all waiting for her orders. The whole team had stared at Kai with different thoughts running through their minds, never in their lives seeing their team captain look so drained so they were beyond confused when Tori offered Kai the chance to train the team and he accepted.

Tori sat with Max during training, keeping an eye on the whole team while trying to hold an interesting conversation with Max. "How long do you think he can hold this up?" Max asked after a few minutes of hearing Tori correct some things during training.

Tori sat back down next to him, eyes focused on Kai, "I'm not too sure, he's really strong and he's handling a lot right now and he's managing quite well I suppose."

"But he's running on nothing out there, is it even wise to let him beybattle?"

"Max…you got to understand that when I want to help him I don't plan on destroying the person he is. He's got his pride and he's got his independence, as a person, I have absolutely no right to destroy that for him and besides, training this team was _his_ job in the first place, I can't just come in here and change things for him and I'm not going to do that."

Max looked out at Kai and followed the beybattle he had with the other two team mates. "I still think he should be more careful though."

"Yes, so do I but this is who he is and I'm not going to change that, I'll leave this much up to him then when a great risk arises then I'll take this into my own hands."

"I guess that sounds fair, I just hope he doesn't push himself too far."

"I'm starting to think that he can't possibly push himself any further." Tori thought aloud.

"That's what we all thought but Kai managed."

"He's a real fighter isn't he?"

"Yeah. He's lucky though, he can stay strong when he needs to."

"The downside to that is that he doesn't know when he can give in."

"I don't think he knew how to."

"Just look after him when I'm gone, I'm sure with time he'll trust all of you…more than he trusts me." Tori told Max, smiling caringly at the young blonde teenager.

Max sighed a bit, and looked on disappointedly, "I wish you didn't have to leave."

"But I do. The thing is that you guys all did fine without me before you met me, you'll do fine without me after too."

"Kai isn't the same though."

"I softened him up, now its time for his true, real friends to finish the job I started." Tori said supportively.

Max was about to speak again when a shadow loomed over him for a second before Kai ran past them and into the Dojo. "Guys, what happened?" Max asked hurriedly.

"Well he won the battle." Ray pointed out, holding out Dranzer to Tori, "But if he were mad about something I don't think he would've left this behind."

Tori picked up the blade from his hand and took a close look at it, no real reason for that though, "Maybe he wasn't feeling well, just give him a few minutes and in the mean time you guys can have a break too." She tried to sound hopeful as best she could, trying to hide her own fear for the other boy. "I'm going to get a drink from the kitchen." She quickly got up and went into the kitchen, leaving the rest of the team to sit there in confusion and exchange questions with no answers to each other.

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and dialed Kai's number in just under a second. The phone rang over and over again and was a bit startled when she heard the ringing so close and the vibrating against something. She walked into the hall, moving closer to the sound of the rings, hearing the vibrating by the door, sounded more like Kai had dropped his phone on the way in.

Tori ended the call once she noticed Kai wasn't going to pick up his phone. She patiently waited outside the bathroom for a while, occasionally walking out onto the porch to keep an eye on the others.

**---With Kai--- **

Kai's eyes were squeezed tightly shut and he was trembling violently as he gave yet another dry heave into the toilet after emptying what he had eaten for breakfast, feeling like his entire stomach had been turned upside down. He had no idea for how long he'd been throwing up, before the attack of nausea finally ceased, and he slowly got up onto his weak legs, giving a shuttering sigh whilst flushing the toilet. He walked over to the sink, resting against it before switching on the tap and rinsing his mouth.

After cleaning himself up, he sat down on the side of the bath to bring his heart rate down to a decent level. Worry ran through his mind that the others may have seen him feel unwell and would probably ask him about it. He stopped thinking of all such things the second the sickly feeling grew in his stomach again and he felt he was going to be sick again. Letting go of the thoughts he realized things got a bit easier, if he just forgot about things for a minute then he found he could breathe a bit better. So with that thought in mind, he decided to take things easy with the team and just deal with whatever happened.

He got up and walked over to the door, picking up his phone and putting it back in his pocket. Taking a deep breath he unlocked the door and opened it slowly. He bumped straight into Tori, who had apparently heard him disengage the lock on the bathroom door.

"Hey, I was starting to think you died in there." Tori joked quietly, smiling happily that he was okay.

"No, don't worry, it was nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing though."

"I just felt a bit sick, that's all it was." Kai tried to walk past her but Tori cut him off as always.

"Before you get back to training get something to eat to make up for what you lost, otherwise you'll pass out."

"I know. I know." Kai walked past again and went into the kitchen, hearing Tori follow him in there and sit at the table. "Go continue training with the others." He ordered, pouring himself a glass of water.

Tori shook her head a bit, "No. You're my main concern right now."

"I just need to drink and eat and I'll be fine so just go." Kai sat down at table with his drink, taking small sips in between glaring at her to go.

After very little time Tori gave in, slammed her hand down on the table while getting up, "Alright but call if you need anything." She left with her words, not giving Kai a chance to even answer her.

**---That Night--- **

Tori knocked on Kai's bedroom door in hopes that he'd answer her. They had gotten back from Tyson's Dojo at about 11pm and since then Kai ate, disappeared into the bathroom for about an hour and a half and then disappeared in his room and she hadn't heard a word from him since. Since she didn't get an answer, nor a protest against her entrance so she opened the door and stepped inside.

Kai sat on the floor in his room by the bed, eyes closed and face looking calmer than anything she'd ever seen. More than anything it looked like he was meditating, then again she didn't think he did that. She sat opposite him and stared at him for a few minutes, Kai not even flinching at her, most likely not even realizing she was there. **(A/N: This is something I've noticed when someone is meditating. When my friend does it its like he can't hear me at all, I'm pretty sure he knows I'm there but he doesn't even acknowledge my existence. Ray-Tiger-Cat, you know who I'm talking about.) **

"You amaze the hell out of me, you know that right?" Tori asked after minutes of sitting there.

"Yes." Kai answered calmly.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to remain sane, you mind?"

"Well can you try to remain sane in your sleep?"

"No." Kai's voice came out cold again.

"That doesn't matter. Get up now." Tori stood up and pulled on Kai's hand a bit.

Kai pulled his hand out of hers, "I'll go to bed later."

"You know, I'm not as strong as I used to be but I could always get Denzelle to make you get up and go to bed." Tori pointed out, getting into her side of the bed.

"Later."

Tori got under the covers, turning on her stomach and support herself on her forearms, her mobile in hand as she looked through some old messages before playing a game. She lay there, bored and tired, failing miserably at the game. She placed her phone under her pillow in defeat and glanced towards Kai, seeing him still on the floor. Tori sighed, she gave up for the night. "Good night." She called out to the only other person in the room. She remained lying on her stomach but rested her head on her arm. She heard the light switch go off and then felt a light weight on the bed. A gentle hand fell on the small of her back and fingers traced up her spine which sent chills all over her skin. "Stop that, Kai." She whispered.

"I need to ask you something."

"Then ask." Tori said, sound a bit cold hearted through her tiredness.

"How much had you found out about me?"

"Not much."

"But how much?"

Tori exhaustedly sat up a bit, sighing, seemed like she wasn't going to be getting much sleep. "There were four files on you, I skimmed through one of the files that had reports and articles and your medical file." She answered him.

"You never looked through the others?"

"No. All I wanted was a bit of information on what was going on, the rest is for you to decide when to tell me."

"Well thanks." Kai whispered to her.

"Feel better?" Tori asked him.

"Yeah."

"Good." Tori got back to lying down in bed, lying on her side this time instead. Tori moved closer to Kai, a hand being placed on his side till she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and fell back on the pillow. "Good night, Kai." She whispered.

"Night."

**---Next Morning--- **

Tori's eyes opened slowly, clear vision falling on the boy that was sitting up in bed. She slowly and lazily took in his whole form at the time, eyes a bit widened, his breathing heavy, his form shivering slightly, a tight gripped hand holding tightly onto his side that was closest to her. Taking that last thing into account she sat up hurriedly, "Kai?" she asked, gentle trying to move his hand off his side. Kai's stubborn though and only tightened his hold, eyes shutting tightly too, "Kai, let me see."

Kai moved his hand off the clothed-side, suddenly staring down at his blood-covered hand in some shock. "It's been almost two years now…how'd this happen?"

"It can be a matter of a force." Tori lifted the hem of the black shirt a bit, wincing at the bloody sight.

"What?!"

"Calm down, Kai." Tori whispered softly. "You got stressed out, this was fragile, there was a great strain or force put on you and it opened up again, this kind of stuff happens all the time." **(1) **

Kai muttered something furiously, eyes burning with a mixture of pain and anger, "It's not meant to happen to me."

"But it did." Tori reminded. Kai didn't say a word and Tori shook her head a bit and ran out of the room, coming back with a white cloth in her hand. "Sit back." She ordered carefully. Kai glanced at her, seeing her look worried and a bit supportive towards her orders. "Trust me."

Kai placed wiped the blood on his hand on his trousers, placed both hands behind his back to keep himself up, refusing to lie back. "What are you going to do?" he asked, watching her lift the blooded area of his shirt.

"Check how deep this actually is." Tori placed the cloth on the wound, pressuring the cloth into the wound, seeing the wound wasn't deep enough for any real damage. "It's not too deep." She pointed out to him.

"Thank goodness for that."

"Yeah, I'll get Denzelle to come clean this up."

Kai sat up and tried to get out of bed, being pushed back again by the worrying girl beside him, "She doesn't need to do that, I can do it myself."

"Doesn't matter, I'll have her do it."

"You don't trust me to clean it up myself do you?" Kai asked, a smirk on his face and a bit of disbelief in his voice.

"Not a damn." Tori smiled, replying honestly.

"Glad to know you trust me so much with my life." Kai said sarcastically, sitting back as he was before.

"I do trust you, just not to do something like clean something like that up." Tori continued truthfully. "Denzelle." She called out.

Denzelle walked through the door, "Already on it, Mistress." She smiled.

Tori smirked lightly, narrowing her eyes just a bit as walked past her to sit by Kai on the other side of the bed. "Been eavesdropping have you?"

Denzelle laughed, "Maybe I have been." She answered.

"Great, now I'm really worried." Kai muttered to himself.

Denzelle had brought in with her the first aid kit and now set it out beside her on the bed, placing a cold, antiseptic-covered cloth onto the wound the had been cut through Kai's skin. "Is that alright?" Her voice came out cautious towards Kai, being careful not to hurt him after what he had been through.

"It's fine." Kai answered her.

Tori had been sitting just beside Kai and sat close to him and only watched as Denzelle tried to tend to the cut, "You're lucky, you're so brave." She whispered.

Kai pulled an arm around Tori's waist but she didn't move her gaze off of the blood on his side, "And you aren't?" he asked her.

Tori didn't answer, just shrugged slightly.

Kai lifted Tori's chin so she'd look at him, she did for a second but she broke the gaze a second later when she turned her head away from him again. Kai didn't argue with her about it, instead just kissed her on the cheek and turned back to keeping an eye on Denzelle's work.

Denzelle, in the meantime, had actually been taking note of the couple's actions as they did them while she wiped up all the blood and disposed of the blood cloths, but she quickly got back to focusing more on her work when Kai turned his own attention back to her. "Hurry up would you?"

Denzelle smirked and looked up at Kai a bit, "Come on Kai, its 8am and you have two girls on your bed, you should be happy not grumpy." She joked.

Kai glared coldly at her for that, letting it falter when he heard Tori laughing from beside him.

"She was only joking, Kai."

"Yeah, I know." Kai muttered, annoyance shining through.

"So are you done yet, before Kai loses his patience?" Tori asked Denzelle.

"Just about." Denzelle finished up. She taped a thick piece of cloth over the wound and wiped her hands clean of any blood. "Done. Feeling any better?" She cleaned up anything she had used to clean, dry and wrap up the cut.

"Yeah, I guess." Kai pushed himself up properly, Tori giving him some space.

"Do any of you need anything?" Denzelle asked politely after putting the first aid kit back in the bathroom.

"I'm fine." Tori nodded.

"Same with me."

"Thanks though." Tori smiled gratefully.

"No problem, Mistress." Denzelle smiled back before leaving the couple alone again.

**A/N: This chapter is being put up a day early, basically because I have Monday and Tuesday off from school so I want to work on a one shot or two and maybe another chapter. **

**(1) ****In the chapter there was this marker, instead of putting another author's note in the middle of the chapter I thought I'd just mark it and put it here at the end. So basically this is true and it is humanly possible. Once when a this man was a kid he had a cut on his hand that left a scar there for the rest of his life since it had needed many stitches. One day, as an adult, he punched a wall and a few minutes later he found that his hand was bleeding from that same wound he had when he was younger. Why? Because he had been wearing gloves with steel plating on the inside, the force of the hit to the wall, with the added pressure of steel, rips an old cut open. **

**So…please review and I'll update as soon as I can. **


	18. Just A Bit Closer

_**Chapter 18**_

"Nice way to start the day huh?" Tori smiled once they were alone again.

"I'm sorry it started out like this."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." Tori said quietly. She smirked a bit and added, "It's not your fault you're problematic."

"Really? And here I thought I did something to deserve all this." Kai muttered.

"You deserve to have more good things happen to you." Tori told him. She watched as Kai shook his head a bit, as though he didn't care what happened to him. She smiled caringly at him, hope shining through, "I'll go make some breakfast, I'll call you when it's done, k?"

"Sure."

Tori got off the bed and walked out of the room, keeping the door open after she left. Kai looked on to where she disappeared down the hall before he rested his head back into the pillow. _'What a day.' _He thought.

'_Isn't it a bit early in the day to be saying that?'_

'_Apparently it's not early enough into the day for me to be already having a bad day. Why does this always have to happen?'_

'_You have been very stressed lately, it's no surprise…'_

'_I know but how can I possibly not be stressed out right about now?'_

Dranzer sighed, _'I don't know what to say.'_

'_You don't need to say anything, Dranzer. I'll handle this.'_

'_Not by yourself I hope.'_

'_I think that even if I wanted to do it by myself, that I wouldn't be allowed to.'_

'_Yes, you almost always seem to be surrounded by the people that want to help you.'_

'_That's not a bad thing is it?'_

'_Of course not, Master. What makes you think it is?'_

'_Isn't it obvious?'_

'_When it came to friendship and pain, Boris was always wrong, Master.'_

'_It's not just that though.'_

'_Then what is it?'_

'_It makes me feel far too much like I have a problem and I hate feeling pitied just because I have something to deal with.'_

Dranzer felt he understood a little more now, feeling like he got to the root of what was going on, _'Then wouldn't it be a good idea if you spoke to your team about it before you tried to confide in them?'_

'_I can't do that.' _Kai answered sternly.

'_Well then maybe you could get Tori to tell them for you.'_

'_As if…' _Kai would have continued but heard a crashing coming from an other room. He rushed off the bed as quickly as he possibly could and ran out of the bedroom. The kitchen was empty, not seeing Tori in there he checked all the other rooms. Tori was found sitting on the ground in her bedroom, clutching the back of her head tightly with pain burning through it.

Kai sat on the ground beside her, pulling the pain-stricken girl into his arms, fingers brushing through her hair as he whispered for her to relax. Tori's arms snacked around his waist as she rested against him, her head against his chest and tears slowly dropping from her eyes and soaking Kai's shirt. Tori let out a sob as her pain subsided, then peeled the soaked bit of the shirt off from sticking to Kai's skin, "I'm sorry." She whispered, regarding the soaked shirt.

"Don't be stupid." Kai told her, tightening his arms around her.

"Kai…I don't know what I'm going to do." She cried hard with the words that crossed her lips.

Now Kai was lost in between his own pain and problems and those of the girl that lay crying in his arms. Being unsure of what to even say he just quietly calmed her down, making the same soothing sounds she had made for him days before.

**---That Afternoon---**

The whole team sat outside on the porch talking. More like, Tori, Max, Tyson and Ray where talking, Kai was in a corner by himself, mostly listening to the conversation and keeping an eye on the auburn-haired girl. She had worried him so much that day and after that he was more than positive that she was actually scared of taking the surgery, of the chances she'd have to take, that's why she wasn't taking the surgery to save her life, even if a part of her wanted to keep living.

Though he had to say, he was impressed by her. She was dieing, in most probably a month or so and there she was, lying on her stomach on the porch, smiling and laughing at all the others said and joked about, joined in on the jokes. Her shirt showed off her bare shoulders now and her auburn hair fell graciously over them, her hair shining bright in the sun light against her pale skin. She sat there like nothing mattered to her anymore, that he break down was one little mistake she made and now it was all over, that all was done with. Everything she did that way really impressed him.

Every morning he used to wake up feeling horrible, not at all looking towards the day and all he had to get through before he could try to get some peace and maybe, hopefully, some sleep. But he stood there the whole time and watched her be the total opposite to him, he watched her get up in the morning with a smile on her face the second she woke up, even if she was reminded that she was dieing. She woke up every morning with a smile on her face, he would catch her laughing ten minutes after she would have collapsed but the thing was, that it wasn't all a show, it was real, she really was happy with things. Very little pain from her decision of dieing prayed on her mind as a problem.

Now there she was standing in front of him, her hands behind her back as she smiled happily towards him. "Hey Kai, you want to come get some ice-cream with us?" she asked.

"No, thanks." Kai answered her coldly.

"Come on, Kai. We're not leaving you here alone." Ray informed.

"And besides, it's getting warm we need to cool off and you do too." Tori persisted, placing a hand on Kai's forearm.

Kai stared down at her hand that touched his arm so softly. "Fine." He muttered icily, pushing himself off the wall.

Tori smiled happily towards the others and they all headed towards the beach. Tyson and Ray had been walking ahead of them all, Tori had been with them but then remembered about the other two teenagers who were behind, apparently not many people cared that Kai was walking by himself but it seemed like they had forgotten that Max wasn't as faced as he used to be because of the healing twisted ankle he had. So Tori stayed behind, talking both to the blonde boy and to her worrying boyfriend.

The whole team settled at a table not far from the beach, each of them with their ice-cream. The time had seemed to slip by and even in little time Tori got Kai to get some ice-cream for himself too, it took a while but she managed. Looking up from her own ice-cream, Tori glanced at Kai as he ate his own, she grinned a bit and sat forward to be a bit closer to him since she was sitting on his right. "Hey, Kai?" she called.

Kai turned to her but was a bit late, suddenly seeing Tori's hand move to his ice-cream, she tipped it a bit which got some chocolate ice-cream on Kai's face, making Tori laugh immensely at that. Kai shook his head, wiping off the ice-cream on his face with a napkin, a devious smirk on his face along with the irritation. On hearing the others, particularly Tyson, laughing at him he took it as a chance for him to have his own fun for once. He reached towards Tyson, pulled the cone out of Tyson's hand and wiped the ice cream on the front of Tyson's shirt and then putting the cone back in his hand.

Tori now was really laughing at that, probably her downfall considering that Kai turned to her and pushed her ice-cream in her face, sparing her from doing to her what he had done to Tyson, considering she had white tank top on. She gasped when the freezing cold substance touched her face, not even believing Kai had actually done that. She wiped off some of the ice-cream that was on her face, before picking up more napkins and cleaning herself up. "That wasn't fair." She pouted.

"It was more than just fair." Kai pointed out.

"No it wasn't fair, Kai! I can't help laughing when it comes to you having ice-cream all over your face." Tyson told him.

"Neither can I." Kai retorted, smirking.

"Touché, Kai." Tori smiled.

"That was pretty funny." Max laughed.

Ray agreed, "Yeah, most definitely."

"Yeah, you got me." Tori admitted.

"Glad that you admit it." Kai nodded towards her in thanks, his smirk never leaving his face.

"You know, I'll get you back eventually right?" Tori smiled kindly at him as she said it with a mischievous glint in her eyes again.

"Most likely." Kai shrugged, leaving the ice-cream on the table, crossing his arms and sitting back in his chair.

"Or you and I can just do something to take our minds of annoying each other." Tori grinned.

"And what's that?"

"Torture the others instead." Tori replied, smiling innocently at the others.

"Sounds tempting." Kai thought aloud.

"Tori!" Ray, Max and Tyson yelled at her in unison, all sitting forward in their seats.

Tori laughed, "It was only a joke. I know for a fact Kai would much rather torture me than torture you guys…He's had so much time to torture you guys, you got boring." She said, looking quite serious for someone who was only joking.

"You're so unfair." Tyson told her.

"I try." Tori shrugged, now a bit of humor showing in her voice.

"I think you're just too lazy to try anything sometimes though." Ray teased.

"I don't think she's _that_ lazy." Kai disagreed.

Tori smiled a bit and turned to Kai, "No, Kai, he just might be right about that."

"Who would've thought that Kai was wrong about something?" Tyson said jokingly.

"Hey, Kai can be wrong about a lot of things. It's you guys that are just probably too stupid to notice." Tori defended Kai, turning Tyson's joke against the group.

"Hey, what's with all this teasing all of a sudden?" Max asked, pausing the others.

"We all really are childish." Tori laughed, being a bit more aware of all the teasing they had actually done now.

"Correction; you guys are all childish, I'm just sitting here watching the show." Kai said, pointing at each and every one of them.

"Yeah, I think he's got us there guys." Tori said, admittedly.

"Most probably." Ray added, nodding.

Tori looked around, seeing the place slowly darkening, "Guys, shouldn't we be heading back to the Dojo?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"I guess we should."

The whole team left their table, making their way back to the Dojo in some silence since they left the ice-cream bar. Tori paused and stood back from all the others, staring out at the sea for a short while, taking in the sight of the sandy beach and the marine waves that washed up on it, taking in the salty smell of the beach too. She saw Kai had stopped and looked back at her, she started walking again, walking past him a little before he caught up and pulled an arm around her. "Are you alright?" he whispered in her ear.

Tori's frown quickly turned to a smile, the best one she could possibly get herself to pull off. "I'm fine." She sounded so convinced this time, she even surprised herself with it. She quickly saw something, noting Ray had looked back at them, she pushed Kai off of her and walked a bit ahead of him in the end.

Ray had noticed the close contact between the two, despite Tori's and Kai's best efforts to hide it. He laughed a bit and turned back to looking in front of him, following the others and joining them in a conversation while Kai walked furthest away from them, silently cursing Ray's sharp hearing and timing.

**---That Night--- **

Tori walked out of Kai's room, the bedroom she'd been spending her past few nights sleeping in. She stepped into the living room, peeking in, she saw Kai lying on his side on the sofa watching some TV, a bottle of vodka in hand, half of it still being in there, thankfully. "Hey…" Tori said almost in a scolding tone, walking up to him.

Kai sighed inwardly, _'Great, now she's going to go on about this.' _He thought.

"If you're planning to get drunk for the night and wake up with a hangover tomorrow…" Tori snatched the bottle from him, "do me a favor and don't leave me out of it." She scolded, before taking a drink from the bottle and jumping down next to him.

Kai glanced at her, confused as to why she was suddenly taking such a thing so lightly and then, finally, it actually hit him… "Rough day?" he asked her, sitting up a bit.

"More like…rough week." Tori corrected after thinking, placing the bottle of alcohol on the ground. "How was yours?" she asked, looking at him.

"About the same…" Kai whispered softly, looking up at her.

"At least your parents aren't coming to visit." Tori muttered, taking another sip of alcohol.

Kai had heard her and took the bottle from her, "I don't have any parents to be visited by." He took a sip too before sitting back against the arm rest and passing her the bottle back.

"What ever happened to them?" Tori asked quietly.

"They died when I was young, my dad died in a car crash in Iwate and my mom was ill." Kai answered her as though he were saying nothing to her, suddenly feeling like secrets he had kept shouldn't be a secret between them.

"That's so…sad." Tori whispered, turning to look at the carpet in thought.

"I barely knew them, I don't care."

"It's still sad though." Tori told him quickly, looking at him with sadness in her eyes and a pout on her face.

"Maybe." Kai shrugged a bit.

Tori sat back a bit, "Don't…you miss them at all?" she asked.

"How can you miss something you don't know?" Kai asked her quietly.

"I'm sorry…" Tori whispered, moving close to him.

"I don't need your pity." Kai was quick and stern but then slowly faltered with thought, "There's nothing you or I could have done." He added.

"I know…I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Don't be."

Tori smiled a bit, "We've been saying that to each other a lot lately, haven't we?"

"I guess so." Kai smiled, seeing her smile at her own comment.

_'I won't let it end like this.' _Tori thought determinedly.

_'Mistress…' _

"Are you going to be alright, Kai?" Tori's voice came out quiet and sensitive, meanwhile ignoring her bit-beast.

"Eventually." Kai answered, drinking more out of the vodka bottle.

"Damn, how can you drink that much?" Tori asked.

Kai answered her, "Quite easily actually."

Tori muttered, staring on, "Yeah, so I see."

"Shouldn't you be going to bed?" Kai asked her, placing the almost empty bottle back on the ground.

Tori looked at him confusedly, her lower lip sticking out just a bit, "What am I kid?" she asked.

"No but you've had a long day, maybe you should get some sleep."

"If you get to stay up and get drunk than I should be allowed to do the same for once, no?"

Kai sighed and looked up at her, "What are the chances you can get drunk within half an hour?" he asked her, smirking a bit.

"I don't know, I just want to know if there's enough alcohol around here to be able to get at least one of us drunk." Tori laughed.

"Well I'm already half way there and you're generally acting like you're drunk." Kai joked.

"Yeah, quite true." Tori agreed. "So I'll leave you alone, just finish up the bit in the bottle and come to bed." She ordered quietly as she stood, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Sure, thanks." Kai kissed her back.

Tori smiled and was about to totally disappear from the bedroom before turning back at him, "Oh hey, before you get back to bed, rinse the smell of alcohol off you, that stuff is nasty." She laughed at the end before leaving.

Kai nodded, she was right, this particular alcohol wasn't good in general. But at the time he just didn't care about that, the alcohol tended to numb the pain and he hadn't done this in a while so seeing as it had been a while he didn't feel as guilty as he usually would.

It took a while and a lot more clearing and berating before Kai finished up the little that was left in the vodka bottle but he managed it. Wavering slightly he got off the sofa, walking to the bathroom and locking himself in there for about an hour. Tori stepped out of Kai's bedroom, looking on at the bathroom door which she had heard close behind him so long ago. She was worried, very worried but she tried her hardest not to let it show, she tried to smile, to keep smiling for all she did, for all that happened.

She walked back into the bedroom and got back into bed, warming up under the covers. The room was pitch dark and Tori just stared at the empty space on the bed beside her. The empty space didn't remain empty for too much longer after that, Kai lay down beside her soon enough, pulling a strong arm around her waist. "I guess you didn't get as far as you wanted to in getting drunk then huh?" Tori smiled.

"Not really, you drank some of it too and it's really hard to find alcohol around here though I'm pretty sure that it's enough to leave me with a hangover." Kai told her, a smirk on his face as he closed his eyes to sleep after the long day.

Tori moved closer to him, kissing him softly, running her cold hand along Kai's shoulder and side. "I don't like to keep stuff like vodka around here…at least that way I can be sure you're not always drinking." She told him.

"I don't drink that often though."

"Well I don't see you drink that much so I'm pretty sure you're saying the truth about that but still, you never know what could happen."

"Very true." Kai whispered in agreement.

"Good night, Kai." Tori whispered sleepily.

"Good night."

**---Next Morning--- **

Tori was in the kitchen making herself some breakfast, poured her cereal out into the bowl and poured the milk over it. She picked up her spoon and settled in the living room. She sat back on the sofa comfortably while eating her cereal, then raising her eyes a bit when Kai sat on the ground at the coffee table across from her. His head crashed onto the table as he tried to support it with his arm, "You'd think you'd learn by now." Tori told him.

"You drank too." Kai pointed out.

"And sometime during the day I just might regret it but in the mean time it's you who's paying the price."

Kai got off the ground once he saw that Tori had placed her emptying bowl onto the table. He sat down next to her, supporting his pounding head in his hands. "This isn't fair." He muttered.

"That's what you get for drinking, ne?"

"That's not the unfair part." Kai pointed out.

"Then what is?"

"The fact that your head has been through so much that you can barely feel that part of the hangover!" Kai almost yelled at her, matter-of-factly.

Tori laughed at that, rubbing his back soothingly for a minute, "That's quite true, I can't feel that part of the hangover but you know, if you keep complaining than you're only going to make things worse."

"You're going to make things worse if you keep rubbing my back like that." Kai's voice came out muffled but a bit angry as he covered his mouth a bit.

Tori smiled and took her hand off him, "Life is quite like a hangover Kai." She laughed, getting off the sofa and taking her bowl back into the kitchen.

Kai groaned at that, lying down on the sofa in hope of his migraine passing with less movement. He heard Tori walk back into the room but didn't take much note of her since his eyes where closed and he was comfortable in not knowing what she was doing. He just heard her come up beside him, then put something on the table and leave the room again. If he strained his ears enough then he would have heard her go back to her room and close the door behind her too.

After a few minutes, Kai had already begun to feel a bit better and opened his eyes and sat up. He took in what was left for him on the table, seeing Tori had left two pain killers and a glass of water. Taking them both back to the kitchen he took the painkillers while in there, silently wishing that they would take an affect quickly. While he hoped that'd happen he went to his room, picked up all his clothes for the day and dumped them in his bathroom to get ready for the long day ahead of him.

**---A Few Minutes Later- With Tori--- **

Tori stood in front of her mirror, brushing the morning knots out of her thick auburn hair, "So you think Kai is alright?" she asked to the other being in the room.

Denzelle sighed at being asked that again, "I'm sure he's fine, Mistress." She answered, yet again. She was currently lying on her stomach on Tori's bed, sprawled about with nothing to do but to fidget with settings on Tori's phone. "It's amazing, you don't even worry about me this much."

"I _do_ worry about you." Tori told her.

"I know you do, but these days no one can worry you more than Kai does."

"Well I really love him so yeah, no one can worry me that much, I don't think so at least." Tori laughed, pulling her hair back into a tight pony tail before sitting on the bed next to her bit-beast.

"You don't care about me." Denzelle said with a fake hurt, faking tears in her eyes too.

Tori smiled, rolling her eyes, "You're so dramatic." She pointed out to her.

"Well I try to be." Denzelle said, batting her eyelashes at her Mistress, a smile on her face now.

"You do it very well, I must say."

A light knock on the door frame was heard, making both girls turn to Tori's bedroom door to see Kai at the entrance, all ready for the day and looking a bit better. "Hey." Denzelle greeted kindly.

Kai nodded in reply, all he could really do before glancing at Tori. Tori got the idea and looked at Denzelle, the bit-beast suddenly looked up at her Mistress, taking in her Mistress' look before realizing what was to happen. "Fine." She said, sounding a bit bored, getting off the bed and walking past Kai.

Kai looked back at where Denzelle disappeared to, seeing her walk into the living room and disappear from there. He turned back to Tori, closing the door behind him as he walked into the room and closer to her. "Are you feeling better?" Tori asked him quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." Kai nodded a bit, looking so convincing that Tori couldn't tell if he was faking it or not. He slowly reached out to her, smiling lightly, hands moving from brushing against Tori's shoulders to Tori's cheeks before leaning in close enough for a kiss. Tori's eyes fluttered closed at that, softening up and leaning more into the kiss. The two settled back at the bottom of Tori's bed, sometimes parting for breath while Tori was sometimes unsure of things. By now she'd wrapped her arms around Kai's neck and leaned back against one of the pillows, Kai's hands on her waist.

Someone clearing their throat was heard and both teenagers froze in place, Tori and Kai screwing their eyes shut with a bit of irritation in them. "Can it wait, Denzelle?" Tori said through gritted teeth.

"Depends…" Denzelle started a bit rudely, "Shall I bring your parents up and let them see the show or should I leave them waiting outside?" she asked.

Tori gasped a bit and moved away from Kai, closing her mouth. "What are they doing here?" she asked, after a few minutes.

"Ask them." Denzelle retorted before leaving.

**A/N: Another chapter up before the weekend. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to get the chapter up as soon as I can and I'm sorry that this chapter was a bit shorter than usual but I wanted to get it up. Please review, I'd like an opinion on this chapter. Please. //Pouts like Tori// lol somehow that wont work with me huh? **


	19. The Last Kiss

_**Chapter 19**_

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to." Tori whispered, getting off the bed. She turned back to Kai, picking up his hands and squeezing them lightly in hers. "I'm sorry this happened." She apologized.

"This isn't your fault."

"Yeah but I'll bet you're annoyed." Tori said.

"Not annoyed…just…embarrassed I guess."

"Embarrassed? How come?" Tori asked quietly, sitting back down.

"I don't know…just that she always catches us at the wrong times." Kai answered carefully, his gaze practically glued to the ground.

Tori laughed a bit, placing her arms around his neck again, "You really do have a damn strong and stubborn pride don't you?" she asked.

"This isn't funny." Kai muttered coldly.

"It is, quite a bit." Tori smiled, "Just leave it Kai, I need to deal with my parents but I promise we'll be alone for the night some time soon."

"And you promise that?"

"Yeah, I can't go that long without spending a night alone with you so don't worry, I'll get rid of them sooner or later." Tori whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Mistress…they're waiting downstairs, do you plan on opening for them?" Denzelle called from by the door where she leaned against the frame.

"Yeah, I don't have that much of a choice." Tori stood up and walked past the offending bit-beast to the front door. She opened the downstairs door for them and waited patiently by the door for them. "Hey Kai, best you go in your room and don't be found in mine." She advised from by the door.

Kai nodded quickly in agreement, walking into his room and shutting the door tightly behind him.

When a knock was heard on the front door, Tori opened it, smiling happily in greeting to her parents. "Hey mom." She smiled so happily, you couldn't even tell that she was a bit disappointed with their arrival as she was pulled into a tight hug by her mom.

"Hey sweetie, how've you been?" Tori's mom asked, moving away from her daughter as she took in the elegant form of her slender dieing daughter.

"I've been great, mom. Weren't you meant to be here sometime next week?"

Tori's tall mother looked down sadly at her daughter, glancing a bit at her husband who stood behind her. "Yes but…something came up so we decided to be here a little early." She suddenly smiled.

Tori laughed at that, "You could have warned me."

"We wanted to surprise you." Her dad smiled down at her, speaking in his deep voice.

From where Kai stood, peeking out of his bedroom, he could see where Tori got her stubbornness for happiness from since despite her parent's disappointment in not being able to be there at the time they had promised they still smiled like it didn't really matter. They were lucky, they seemed to have enough strength in them to be able to do that.

"You did a very good job then." Tori smiled, giving and getting a tight hug from her loving dad.

The two proud parents smiled happily at each other, proud of their daughter's acceptance of everything that was going on.

"So…where are you two staying?" Tori asked after a moment of silence and a bit of awkwardness on her behalf.

"Oh we'll be staying at a hotel about ten minutes away from here."

"I'm glad." Tori smiled.

"Glad that we're not living that far away or that we don't have to stay here with you?" Mr Komatsu asked, a smirk on his face.

"A bit of both." Tori said, cheekily, turning and leading the two into the living room.

"Is that anyway to treat your parents?" Mrs Komatsu asked, fake scolding in her tone of voice, placing her hands on her hips as she and her husband followed their daughter.

Tori smirked, turning back to her mother as she jumped onto the sofa, "Cut it out mom, scolding me didn't work five years ago and it won't work now." She told her.

"That's because five years ago we were already aware of what was happening to you." Mr Komatsu pointed out, sitting down next to his daughter.

"That long?" Kai whispered to himself, a bit of shock emitting through his voice.

"Yeah, so I guess you all eased up on me because of that."

"I guess we did." The auburn haired mother answered, laughing. "So, tell us, how have things been going around here?"

Tori smiled a nodded a bit in seeing how anxious her parents actually were, "They've been great, everyone on the team make great friends and they've been really great to me ever since I got here. I quit my job a couple of days ago though, I thought it was about time I gave up on that."

"Probably a good thing too, we can't have you getting stressed out." Tori's dad said wisely.

In the mean time, while a bit more of the conversation went on Kai made a quiet creep for the front door to leave. "Oh by the way, I want you to meet someone." Kai heard Tori say. Tori showed up beside him, hands behind her back at first as she innocently smiled at him. "Come on, Kai." She whispered, taking his hand and pulling him into the next room. She pulled him in front of her parents, the two adults in the room glancing at each other with confusion spread over their features. "This is my friend Kai, I met him when I got here and he's been great." She introduced, tried to at least, beneath the beginning glares from both her boyfriend and her dad.

Kai stopped glaring and turned to the adults that sat in front of him. He tried a smile, nodding a bit with nothing better to do than to just whisper a quiet, "Hi." Awkwardness showing, most of all through his voice as he said that.

**---Later--- **

Tori closed the door behind her parents, saying she'd meet them again the next day. Kai in the mean time sat back on the sofa, exhaustion replacing the tensness on his features from before. He glared coldly at Tori when she walked back into the room, "That wasn't right." He told her.

"They would've met you eventually." Tori told him, resting her head against his arm as she always did.

"Yeah but a warning would've been nice."

"I know but it was a last minute decision and besides, I think they like you."

"Well yeah, I'd think so. I mean, they think I'm just a friend though if your dad knew the truth he may kill me."

"Good chance of that. But if it makes you feel any better, I'd make him kill me first." Tori smiled as she joked.

"Don't try that, he just might."

"Ah well you'd be worth it." Tori whispered lovingly, planting a quick kiss on Kai's lips.

"Just…do me a favor, look after yourself more than you look after me." Kai whispered quietly, pulling an arm around the skinny girl that sat beside him.

"I'd much rather look after you." Tori whispered back.

"Clearly but I'm going to be living, I want you to look after yourself till this is over."

"I have about a month left Kai; don't worry too much about it now."

Kai sighed and look down at her a bit, contemplating on whether to speak again. Seeing Tori staring off out onto the balcony from where she was beside him he spoke without much more thought, "I heard…you've known about it for the past five years."

"Yeah, just about that long." She sounded so casual as she said that, like life was nothing of much importance.

"You had so much time to do something about it." Kai pointed out.

"So what? If I took the surgery back then I could've died anyway, then I wouldn't have met you or the others." Tori whispered her explanation. Her facial expression saddened a bit, "Do you…count meeting me as a bad thing?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Of course not, that's a stupid question." Kai answered quickly. "Things are just hard to deal with right now, with you dieing soon and all."

"Yeah I know but you've got to remember that you've got great friends that want to help you too."

"I know that but it doesn't make it that much easier."

"We both know by now that life isn't easy but friends get us through the hard times. Just promise me that when I'm gone you'll at least give them the chance to try to help you."

Kai tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer, "Stop talking like that."

"Like what? It'll happen eventually and I want you to be safe after I'm gone."

"I'll be fine now stop talking about this."

Tori smiled a bit and went back to resting against Kai's chest, sometimes closing her eyes or staring out off the balcony. "That's not fair, whenever I told you that you hardly ever listened."

"But I did sometimes, that should count for something."

"I'm just too tired to argue." Tori whispered exhaustedly.

"Are you alright?" Kai asked.

"I'm fine. Like I said, don't worry." Tori smiled a bit, closing her eyes again to rest.

Kai sat back more, resting his head back while relaxing a bit. "I can't do that." He whispered though he knew that the girl couldn't hear him anymore, she had fallen asleep and couldn't hear another word that past his lips.

After a couple of minutes of sitting there he sat up slightly, gently moving the other teenager off him and resting her head on a pillow as he got up and left the room. Picking up his jacket from the spare room he stayed in he pulled it on and walked out of the apartment to go for a walk.

On hearing the door close Tori shot up quickly, looking around the living room urgently. On seeing no one around she sat back again before lying down again, tears gradually entering her eyes, "I'm sorry, Kai." She apologized quietly. Her glossy dark brown eyes were shielded when she closed her eyes and tears dripped from beneath the lids and slipped down her soft pale cheeks. In seconds she fell asleep again, nothing on her mind, leaving her peaceful to disappear into the dark abyss of her mind, the kind of darkness that only she held in her mind.

**---That Evening--- **

Surprisingly Tori was still sleeping by 6:30pm which tended to worry Kai a lot now. He knew she was tired but she shouldn't have been sleeping for so long either. Thankfully things looked just about normal, she was still breathing which was always a good thing and she was peaceful and didn't seem to be in any pain at all which was only better.

The phone in the living room rang and Kai picked it up, "Hello?" he answered.

"Hey Kai."

"Mrs Komatsu."

"Oh just call me Maria. Listen, is Tori still in?"

"Yeah she is but she's sleeping at the moment, she has been for the past few hours so she should be waking up soon."

"Oh well her father and I are going out for dinner now, we wanted to invite her along but I'm sure she needs her rest. Could you just tell her to call us when she's up?"

"Sure."

"Thank you. Maybe I'm out of line in asking this Kai, but…are you alright? You didn't look too well today and you sound tired."

Kai gritted his teeth at that, scrunching his eyes shut for a moment, "I'm perfectly fine, Mrs Komatsu."

"Well, alright. Thanks for your help, bye, Kai."

"Bye." Kai hung up quickly. He looked at Tori, taking in the sight of her thin form that lay beneath the blanket he had put over her. He sat on the armchair opposite the girl, picking up one of the school books she had left on the coffee table a couple of days before. He looked through all the pages, raising an eyebrow at the book and asking himself why Tori even bothered going back to school, let alone doing the work the teachers gave out each day. He tossed the book back onto the table, shaking his head a bit, releasing a sigh while rubbing his temples as he felt a headache coming on.

"Kai…" Kai looked up quickly, a startled look on his face. Tori sat up a bit on her side, pouting a bit as she ran a hand through the ends of her hair. "Are you alright?" she asked. She looked at him with such innocence on her face, her tired and worried eyes sparkling with life already, a light pout on her face as she stared on at the troubled boy so worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Tori asked worriedly.

"Yeah, it's just a headache." Kai answered her.

Tori walked over and sat on Kai's lap, pulling her arms around him. "I really do hope you're ok, Kai. I don't want you to hurt so please talk to me when something's wrong." She whispered, ending it with a quick kiss on his cheek.

Kai turned his head away from her a bit, closing his eyes for a moment before turning back to her. "You should call your mom, she wanted to talk to you." He told her, picking her up and setting her down in his place before he left the room.

Tori sighed, picking up the phone from the coffee table and dialing her mom's mobile number.

**---With Kai--- **

The Russian teenager sat on his bed in his room, carefully going over each of the thoughts that entered his mind. Too much had been going on around him, particularly the issue of Tori's death. He still needed to get through that and he didn't feel like he had enough strength in him to be able to handle that happening. How could anyone expect him to be able to handle that normally? He got close to very few people in his life but being so close to the one person who had such little time to live was an experience he had felt a long time before and wasn't ready to feel again.

"Kai…"

"Called your mom?" Kai asked her.

"Yeah, she just wanted to see how I was." Tori answered, remaining in the door way.

"Good."

"She was a bit concerned about you though."

Kai looked up at her quickly, worried eyes holding at the lock of Tori's.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell her anything." Tori reassured, smiling kindly at him. She always did that to him, whenever she wanted to reassure him that she didn't do something against what he wanted. Whenever he feared that she told someone about what goes on with him all she had to do was tell him she didn't and give an honest smile and he felt better about it.

"Thanks."

Tori walked over to him and sat beside him, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Kai said coldly. It sounded like something's never changed. Tori could try to help Kai for years but she could never change the way he reacted to things. He cared about her but it was just in his blood, in his character, to react so coldly in some situations and even if he had softened up, a part of him was always going to act this way because no one, not even the girl he cared about so much could change the way he was.

Tori lifted a hand up a bit, when he didn't protest she moved it closer to him and pushed back a strand of hair the got in Kai's face. "You look really tired." She whispered.

"Headaches can do that to a person." Kai muttered.

"If you weren't feeling well why didn't you rest?"

"It's just a headache."

"Yet a headache is still a good enough reason to get some rest."

Kai turned to her and leaned in a bit, a shy and gentle hand moving up to Tori's neck. "Tori, I'm fine." He persisted quietly.

Tori sat there, staring up at him, some worry still evident in her eyes. He was just so close and she was so worried about him, she cared about him so much now but with the thought in mind of what was still to happen her fear only grew. She pulled her arms around his neck and closed the small gap between the two by moving in closer and setting her lips on his. She trusted him, she cared about him and she wanted him to know that. The trust was probably the hardest part of it, the fact that she always checked on him made it seem to him that she didn't trust him but now she did and he knew it.

**---Next Morning--- **

Kai sat up in bed, 4:00am read the clock on the nightstand. He sighed a bit and looked at the girl that lay beside him on her side, he smiled weakly and lay back down. He turned on his side and wrapped a strong arm around the girl's waist, a hand touching her stomach.

"Morning, Kai." Tori whispered sleepily.

"Morning."

"Slept well?" Tori asked, turning over.

"Yeah, fine. You?"

"Good."

"Think we can give the team the day off again?" Kai asked quietly.

"I don't think I could train them today, mom and dad will probably want me to go out."

"And I want to go out for a bit, clear my head but I could put it off in case you need me to train them."

Tori smiled at him, "No, there's no need. Just let them have the day off."

"That's possible? Who would've thought."

"It is possible you know…you should give it a try sometime." Tori whispered, running her fingers through Kai's hair as she spoke so softly.

"I don't have time for that."

"Well we have the day off why not give it a shot?"

"Why not? I have the rest of the day to go for a walk." Kai whispered, leaning over the girl.

Tori pulled her arms around Kai's neck, hands still roaming through Kai's soft hair. "And mom and dad can wait a couple of hours. They haven't been here for a while so maybe they could do some sight-seeing or…something."

"Yeah, I'm sure they could find something to do for a couple of hours." Kai whispered before closing what was left of the distance between them, keeping a closed distance for quite a while, a game of domination going on till both felt they needed to part for breath.

**---With Denzelle And Dranzer--- **

From in her blade Denzelle groaned in annoyance, _'My goodness, are those two at it again?' _

Dranzer laughed a bit at Denzelle's frustration, _'It appears so.' _

_'Now I hope they're tongues get stuck together luck that.' _

_'If they keep this up it just might happen.' _

_'Good! Maybe my Mistress' parents will see what's going on.' _

_'Just leave them to do…well whatever it is they want to do.' _

_'What choice do I have? It's not like I'm going to walk in on them…again.' _

_'Yes, I think your Mistress will be most irritated with you if you do that.' _

_'Most certainly and your Master would be even more embarrassed than he already is.' _

_'Which, quite surprisingly, is possible.'_ Dranzer laughed.

**---With Kai And Tori--- **

Kai and Tori lay on their backs, both staring at the ceiling. "Is it just me or are we always interrupted somehow?"

"We're always being interrupted." Kai answered with a groan.

"Well the ten minutes where peaceful while they lasted."

"Yeah, can't breath now though." Kai laughed a bit, Tori joining in. He asked after a while, "You planning to go out today?"

"To be totally honest…I really don't even feel like getting out of bed but mom and dad will probably want me to go out with them somewhere."

"I'd love to come along and try to save you, but your dad could scare the hair off a cat."

Tori laughed, moving closer to Kai and pulling an arm round his waist. "Yeah, that's true." She agreed. "What about you? Any plans for the day?" she asked.

"Just want to go for a walk, clear my head a bit. Then maybe look for a new place."

"A new place?" Tori asked confusedly, sitting up a bit.

"Yeah, I was thinking a bit last night and I realized that even if I want my friendship with the others to work I want to live away from them, like I have been for the past few weeks. So when you're gone I'd need a place to stay." Kai explained quietly, eyes fixed on a certain spot on the ceiling.

"Well…unless you have a problem with sharing this place with Denzelle, then you could stay here."

"What?"

"Denzelle turns human upon my death and this place is rented out for ten years so she'll be staying here so if you want you could stay here with her."

Kai turned his head to look at her, looking on in thought, "I don't know…" he was hesitant, anyone could hear it in his voice.

"It's a good deal really. You could live here without paying rent and you won't be completely alone."

"I'm not sure, I need to see how I'm going to deal first."

"That sounds fair, just think about it before you start looking for a new place."

"Sure, thanks."

Tori smiled a bit, leaning over Kai just slightly. A hand slid just under his white t-shirt, Kai's muscles tensing beneath the touch of her skin against his. "Stop tensing up." She whispered in his ear. Her hand moved a little higher up his chest, feeling his heart beating furiously against his rib cage. "Kai…it's not that hard to tell when something's wrong with a person. And when you care about a person as much as I care about you, it's easier to notice it but harder to be able to watch it happening." Her voice was low; as though she were whispering a secret to him the whole time and nothing but caring words crossed her lips the whole time.

"And you know…I can't sit back and pretend that I'm alright with you dieing."

"You survived for so long without me, you got some happiness in your life, finally you've felt it. Now you'll manage without me after this too."

Kai tried a smile before trying to whisper back, "Maybe I'm only allowed a small amount of happiness in my life."

"You'll find even more happiness after me Kai, don't worry about that because good people always get the rewards they deserve in the end."

"How am I classified as good?"

Tori smiled, lying beside him again and resting her head on his shoulder. "You're one of the most amazing guys, I've ever met, Kai. I'll be the first to admit that at the beginning I could barely stand you and I didn't understand you but with the time I tried to understand you better, I don't regret any of it because in the end it was all worth it to know the man behind the mask."

"I wish…I could be as good as you make me sound."

"You're even better than I make you sound, trust me on that."

"You know I trust you and I don't think I would be here with you if I didn't."

"I'm glad I can be someone you trust, Kai. It's all I want."

"I know and I'm sorry."

"Don't be…you tried your hardest. You've been struggling for ages to try to trust someone and when it came down to it you tried your best and look how far you've made it."

"I guess."

"No more of those, 'I guess.' You've made it far Kai, don't forget that. You made it further than anyone had ever guessed and you did it by yourself. All I did was push you hard enough to realize that your time of doing it by yourself was up."

Kai sat up, bringing his knees up to his chest while wrapping his arms around them. He took a deep breath and glanced back at her. He watched her smile for a second, answering his silent question, he nodded and got out of bed and left the room.

**---A Bit Later In The Day--- **

Kai walked absent minded through the streets, no real destination in mind. After that conversation in bed he had left the room, having a quick shower, an apple and leaving to go for a walk, get away long enough to clear his head for a while.

Things only got harder for him once he had left. His mind had wandered to the way he left the apartment. Tori had come after him just when he was leaving; giving him a tight hug and a kiss that made it feel like she had put everything into that one kiss, as if it were the last. That was about four hours before and since then he couldn't stop thinking about it, a little bit worried but taking his mind off it temporarily to deal with some other problems on his mind.

"Kai?" A voice asked inquisitively.

Kai heard the sound of his name being called, snapping out of his thoughts amazingly fast. He looked up hurriedly, in search for the owner of the voice. In front of him stood Maria Komatsu, her husband following close behind her. "Yeah."

"Have you seen or heard from Tori today? We called her at home and her mobile and she hasn't been answering." Mrs. Komatsu said, worry evident in her eyes and voice as she looked at him with hope, the same look in her brown eyes that Tori held when talking to him.

Kai opened his mouth to speak, slowly thinking in the mean time, being startled and distracted by the likeness there was between the two girls. "I saw her this morning…maybe she's resting; she usually sleeps past the phone ringing."

"But we went to the apartment; she didn't open for us either. She should have heard the door; we were there for about half an hour." Mr Komatsu said.

Kai began to worry although he tried his hardest to hide it. "…I have a spare key…I'll go to the apartment and see if she's ok and I'll call you when I find her." He said carefully. "Is that alright?" he asked after a moment of thought.

"Yes, Kai. Thank you, it means a lot." Mrs. Komatsu whispered happily.

Kai nodded and turned away from them, walking away. "Hey Kai, don't you need our number?" Mr Komatsu asked.

"No. Tori called you last night, your number is still on the phone and besides, I'm sure she's fine so she can give me the number." Kai answered, turning his head to the side as he spoke. When he didn't hear another word come from the two he ran down the streets back to the apartment, taking every short cut he could possibly find.

"He's a good kid." Mrs. Komatsu said, looking up at her husband.

"Yes, it looks like he took our place in looking after our little girl."

"I'm glad. I was so worried when we sent her out here by herself."

"So was I but…she seemed to have made it far." Mr Komatsu pulled an arm around his wife as he said that.

In the meantime Kai ran up the stairs to the apartment, worry etched on his features, thoughts in his head running faster than he was, which is most definitely saying something.

**_I picture your face  
In the back of my eyes  
A fire in the attic  
A proof of the prize  
Anomaly, anomaly, anomaly...  
I'll crawl to your name  
I'll bend to the earth  
Nobody else could ever compare  
Anomaly, anomaly._**

Tripping over the last step, fidgeting with the keys in his hands as he reached for the apartment door. Kai's breath caught in his throat as he opened the front door. He almost collapsed back passed the door, tears stinging painfully in his eyes as he staggered forward, pushing the door closed behind him. Time stood still, the world fell apart piece by piece.

Tori lay on her back on the floor, eyes open wide, staring up at a point on the ceiling unconditionally. Her hands remained by her sides, the way her legs where positioned verified how she had fallen. Her mouth was stuck slightly open in a silent cry for help. Tear streaks where painted onto her cheeks, evidentially she'd been crying in her last moments.

All Kai could do was sit on the ground by her side, tears slipping from the boundaries of his eyes, down his cheeks and onto the carpeted floor beneath them. "She needed my help…" he whispered to himself, wiping away his tears. "And damn it, I wasn't here." He growled, punching the ground. Choking back on his tears he cleared his vision enough to put his arms under Tori, picking her up bridal style and carrying her to the bedroom. He gently set her on the bed, sitting in his old place, the side of the bed he used to lay on all the time.

Picking up her lifeless hand, he choked as he kept pulling all his tears and sobs back. She was still warm, he felt it, she hadn't been like this for too long but now all he could do was hold her hand, pretend it was alright. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping it was all a dream, that this wasn't truly happening to him, not now. Bending forward he felt more tears come into his eyes, sobs build up in his chest, making his heart seem heavy but beating so fast that life couldn't catch up to the boy. The slowly cooling hand in his was a constant reminder, she was gone now and he couldn't do anything about it. With fear there was nothing he could do tears ran like a stream from his eyes, sobs shaking his fragile body as he slowly let go of the girl's hand. Life's hope was lost with that.

Something traced gently against the palm of his shaking hand that had let go of the dead girl's hand and the quiet whispered word of, "Kai!" was heard in his ears and something gripped his hand with amazing strength.

**_Wait, there is a light  
There is a fire  
Illuminated attic  
Fate, or something better  
I could care less  
Just stay with me a while  
Wait, there is a light  
There is a fire  
Defragmenting the attic  
Fate, or something better  
I could care less  
Just stay with me a while..._**

A/N: Evil cliffie! Sorry but I'm entitled to be evil once in a while. So…what did you all think? I'm keeping this authors note short today, it's been an emotional chapter to write and now it's got me crying but it's a chapter I'm quite proud of. Please review and tell me what you think!

Alright so the lyrics that are in bold and italics in this chapter are from the song 'Anna Molly' by Incubus. 'Anna Molly' is a pun, it sounds like 'Anomaly' which means different, glitch or abnormality. Here are the lyrics to the whole song.

**_A cloud hangs over  
It's a city by the sea  
I watch the ships pass  
And wonder if she might be  
Out there and sober  
As a well for loneliness  
Please do persist girl  
It's time we met and made, a mess._**

**_I picture your face  
In the back of my eyes  
A fire in the attic  
A proof of prize  
Anomaly, anomaly, anomaly..._**

**_A cloud hangs over  
And mutes my happiness  
A thousand ships  
Couldn't sail me back from distress  
Wish you were here  
I'm a wounded satellite  
I need you now put me back together  
Make me right._**

**_I picture your face  
In the back of my eyes  
A fire in the attic  
A proof of the prize  
Anomaly, anomaly, anomaly...  
I'll crawl to your name  
I'll bend to the earth  
Nobody else could ever compare  
Anomaly, anomaly._**

**_Wait, there is a light  
There is a fire  
Illuminated attic  
Fate, or something better  
I could care less  
Just stay with me a while  
Wait, there is a light  
There is a fire  
Defragmenting the attic  
Fate, or something better  
I could care less  
Just stay with me a while..._**

**_I picture your face  
In the back of my eyes  
A fire in the attic  
A proof of the prize  
Anomaly, anomaly, anomaly..._**

**_I'll crawl to your name  
I'll bend to the earth  
Nobody else could ever compare  
Anomaly, anomaly..._**

**_Wait there is a light  
There is a fire  
Illuminated attic  
Fate, or something better  
I could care less  
Just stay with me a while_**


	20. Just Until

_**Chapter 20**_

"Leave me alone." Kai's muffled voice called.

"Kai, please!"

The voice sounded so much like Tori's so Kai ignored the person all the more, it couldn't have been Tori, she was gone, leaving him alone with whoever dared go next to him. Kai worked on stopping his tears, sitting up a bit and wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. When he got his eyesight to focus on the body in front of him, his mouth almost dropped open, seeing the girl gasping for breath, eyes still fixed open and most likely still unfocused.

Before Kai knew it tears where replacing the ones he had worked so hard on drying off. He slowly reached for Tori's hand that still shook slightly on the bed where he'd dropped it. Tears streamed down Tori's cheeks now, uncontrollable when her eyes focused on Kai, her emotions ran high and the pain in her head got worse.

Kai was left there alone, unable to do anything to help the suffering girl. Hell, he didn't even know what was going on, to him a minute ago the girl was dead, lifeless, he'd never see her smiling at him again. Now, everything was changing and he felt as though he were powerless to do anything in the world around him.

Tori took a deep breath and she visibly relaxed, closing her eyes as she gave Kai's hand a tight squeeze. "Don't worry, Kai." She whispered weakly, keeping a tight grip on Kai's hand as she winced a bit.

Kai's mouth opened in shock, staring down at her with wide eyes, not helping the tears streaming down from them. "How can you say that?" he whispered, shock showing all over his face.

"I'll be fine." Tori breathed heavily, her hands going through some hand movements till her fingers where entwined in his.

Those words only made Kai feel worse. Those where the words he'd been told for so long, words that now he wished he could believe but after what had just happened he couldn't believe them anymore, it was a wake up call that those words didn't mean a thing. The burning tears where ones that couldn't be helped anymore, he could have wiped at his eyes for hours but nothing would have changed the way he was feeling, no one's words, no real action could take away the pain and fear that was going on inside of him at the time.

The sobs that had built up couldn't have hurt him anymore than they currently were and the tears wouldn't stop flowing, he had to get out of there. He let go of her hand, getting off the bed quickly and ran out of the room and down the hall. All he wanted was to be alone for a few minutes, just long enough for him to try and control himself, grasp everything he was feeling, pick them all up and bottle them up like he used to. He was about to run into the living room but got cut off when Denzelle appeared in front of him. Kai's eyesight was blurring now and he wiped at his eyes while muttering something for Denzelle to leave him alone.

To Denzelle those words didn't exist to her and she just looked on at Kai sympathetically, shaking her head as a sign that she just couldn't do what he was asking of her. She encircled her arms around him, making him rest his head on her shoulder as she tried to calm him. Though Kai was far from that, he felt that being calm was some impossible state, one he couldn't reach with the life he lived. Most probably, if it weren't for the girl that held tightly onto him he wouldn't have been able to remain standing. Too much was running through him, too many thoughts pounded painfully in his head, too many emotions were mixing him up and made his heart feel heavier by the minute and through it all, he had enough strength in him to scold himself for even thinking that he had it bad.

"Don't worry, Kai. She's alright." Kai heard Denzelle whispered after the tears began to slow down, the only time she'd found a small opening in speaking to him.

Kai pushed himself hard out of her arms, walking past her to the living room. He sat down on the sofa, sitting forward, forearms pressed tight against his stomach, hands tracing along his cheeks as he wiped away a tear every time one fell. Denzelle walked into the kitchen, boiling some water to make Kai a cup of coffee since he clearly didn't want her help, she still felt she had to do something. She was startled by Tori when she walked in, looking almost dead but still looking determined to help. "Mistress…you shouldn't be…"

"Get Kai some coffee, then leave us alone to talk." Tori ordered her quietly, leaving the room without another word. Tori sat down in the living room beside Kai, pulling a blanket off the arm of the sofa and pulling it over both their shoulders. "I'm sorry."

Kai smirked a bit through his tears, "Don't be! I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry for being selfish, I'm sorry for not understanding, I'm really sorry that…"

Tori cut him off by whispering to him to relax and to slow down while she wiped tears from his damp cheeks. "There's nothing that you need to be sorry about." She told him.

Denzelle tried her best not to interrupt when she walked into the room, placing the hot mug of coffee on the table in front of Kai. She glanced at her Mistress with some concern on her features, more for her Mistress than for the shaking boy. Her Mistress just nodded in thanks and then cocked her head to the side, indicating that Denzelle needed to leave and she quickly did so as not to stress her Mistress out.

"Drink up. It'll make you feel better." Tori whispered, handing him the hot drink.

Kai took the drink, not really believing her when she said he'd feel better but he was willing to try anything at the time, even if it couldn't do too much to help. "What happened?" he asked.

Tori sighed a bit and stared at the ground, "It was pretty close but it just happened to be more like a…" She thought for a moment, thinking for the right word, "Clinical death." She said.

Kai nodded a bit, attempting to wipe off anymore tears that slipped off his cheeks. Tori smiled at him when she saw it, reaching a hand out enough to stroke his cheeks and wipe off the tears that fell, "Will…it happen again?" he asked. By the sound of his voice you could tell how hard he was trying to keep things together, stick to his character where he'd remain strong in a time like this but it failed with the slight shaking that went through his voice.

"I don't know…I'm just tired now, that's all."

"So damn it, get some sleep and stop trying to make me feel better." Kai lashed out at her.

"And leave you here alone? I wouldn't dare." Tori whispered.

"You're leaving anyway." Kai told her coldly.

"Don't think like that, it's not something I can control."

No words where expressed between the two for many silent minutes. A part of her was right, she couldn't control what was going to happen to her but she did have a chance to prevent it, he just had no right to force it on her. He cared about her and he wanted to be happy with her but still, he knew what it felt like to have those kind of decisions forced on you and he didn't want her to feel the way he did.

Tori put the blanket completely over him and walked across the room to the other sofa there was there. She lay down and rested her head carefully on a pillow, closing her eyes to get some sleep.

Kai watched her do this and picked up the phone from the table. He got off the sofa, placed the blanket over the almost sleeping girl and walked out of the room with the phone again, dialing a number on it.

Tori heard him leave the room but was too exhausted to make any attempt in stopping him. She'd heard him dialing a number on the phone as he left and wondered who he was calling. Again, being too tired to do anything about it or even bother thinking about what was to happen next. She heard the boy walk back into the room, placing something onto the table, most likely the phone. He stopped when he got to the other sofa he was on earlier and got back to sipping the hot coffee. "Your parents will be here soon." He told her after a while, realizing she could hear him.

Tori's eyes shot open at hearing his words, "What?" she asked quietly.

"They were the ones that told me you weren't answering the phone or door, that's what got me here. They wanted me to call once I knew what had happened. I told them and they'll be here in a few minutes to check on you."

Tori tried to shrug a bit but that sent a sharp pain up her neck, searing through her head which hurt painfully. "Okay." She whispered. She tried to make herself comfortable, gripping the pillow she rested her head on whenever pain ran through her too sharply. Life was getting tough and now a part of her couldn't wait till this was all over so that Kai could work on moving on without her. She knew it was going to be tough for him to adjust but it seemed like it was something that had to be done sooner or later. She just wished that the clinical death hadn't happened, that way she wouldn't have to watch him be in so much more pain because of it.

Now she needed to endure more time of watching him suffer and the last thing she wanted to do was watch him cry and feel terrible on her last few days. She wished he'd just be okay, that things would get better once she was gone but things like that don't happen so fast, he had to work at it to make himself feel better but it was going to take him a while and until her time was finally up, all she could do was sit back and watch and maybe try to help him, only if he'd let her.

The next thing she knew she was feeling a stinging feeling on her face. She opened her eyes slowly, looking up to see her dad trying to wake her from her sleep and drag her out of her agonizing thoughts. She sat up a bit, looking on in confusion as she realized she couldn't hear any of the words that her parents where saying. She'd seemed to have lost her hearing and all she could do was squint to see if she could read lips. She didn't get a thing that was going on and all she could do was turn her head to the side a bit, pouting in sadness and frustration. Kai sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Tori looked up at her, confusion written all over his face before she saw him trying to force a smile and nod.

Tori tried a smile too, resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes again. She winced when someone patted at her face again, and she looked up at her dad, a bit of annoyance shining through her eyes as he seemed to be scolding her. When it looked like she couldn't understand what exactly it was that he was saying, Kai seemed to have grown tired of it and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to look directly at him. He said something carefully and she didn't even have to read lips to realize what was going on, she could see it just by the concern that shone through his eyes as he spoke so carefully. She was meant to stay awake for a few hours, most likely to keep her from slipping out of it again. She bit her lip and nodded a bit, almost fearfully.

She sat back a bit, taking a deep breath, taking in the looks of her family and her boyfriend. A look of sadness and fear being seen on each of them. The looks reflected so much on them, like they knew what was to come and they all feared it and the worst part was that they knew that there was nothing they could do about it. Up until now they all knew it was going to happen but it wasn't as bad until they knew that it could've been minutes away from happening and when you come so close to dieing, you tend to realize how they feel. She turned her head a bit to look outside where the balcony was, she stared off for a few minutes, thoughts always running through her head just like the pain was but she didn't care, her eyesight had gone so foggy and her mind was so clouded by thoughts that without her hearing she was able to do anything without caring about what was happening around her.

Maybe this was how Kai felt sometimes, torn away from the world. Maybe he felt that he pulled himself away from the world so much, its as though he didn't hear what was happening in the world around him and he got so lost in his own thoughts that sometimes he couldn't even feel how much pain he was actually enduring until it finally started eating away at him. Maybe she wasn't meant to understand him, until she actually had to feel the way he did. Unfortunately, for her to feel the way he did it was at the time that she was dieing in front of the ones she loved. _'Till I'm dieing in front of those I love?' _she thought. The way her inner voice even said that, sounded so faint, so weak, lost in the thoughts that went on. Was this how Kai actually felt? That he was a sacrifice, dieing in front of his friends where he sees them as powerless to stop it?

The feeling was a terrible one, a feeling that brought many stinging hot tears to her eyes with just the thought. She hadn't seemed to notice just how fast they had been slipping until she saw Kai's hand reach out and wipe away the tears from her cheeks, stroking the skin and tears away with his thumb, trying to give her a supportive smile. But that only made her cry more, he was there for her, trying so hard to be helpful when on the inside he was dieing, or more to the point, killing himself with scolding and harshness which he inflicted on himself when he lightened up. Tori wrapped her arms around Kai and rested her head against his chest, avoiding closing her eyes so that she could stay awake though having her hair stroked so lovingly would have made anyone feel comfortable enough to fall asleep.

Maria and her husband looked at each other in a bit of confusion but the two teenagers in front of them hadn't seemed to notice, or cared that they were being watched by two adults. The teenagers where locked in their own little world where their pain only shifted from one teenager to the other. Within minutes, she heard her own sobbing sounds, hearing a light breeze outside and hearing her parents whispering in the kitchen and finally but most importantly, she heard Kai whispering so many soothing words to her. Kai smiled a bit, once realizing the girl was feeling a bit better. Tori sat up a bit, reaching out to stroke Kai's cheek and neck before giving him a soft kiss on the lips in thanks, taking advantage of the fact that her parents weren't in the room. "Kai…" She whispered in her raspy voice.

"Yeah?"

"Can you please…go get the rest of the team?" She asked quietly, laying in his arms.

"I'm not leaving you alone here."

"Mom and dad are here and…I'll be fine."

"Stop saying that because it's not true."

"I won't die before I see them Kai and I won't die without seeing you again so please go and get them, I really want to see them." Tori was quiet, seeming like she didn't have anymore energy to speak any louder.

Kai sighed a bit, uncertainty written all over his face before he nodded just slightly. He gently moved her out of his arms and pushed her back against the pillows. He left the living room after placing a quick kiss on her cheek, went into the kitchen and informed the two adults that he'd be leaving and that someone should keep an eye on Tori, or something along those lines was all Tori heard. She heard Kai leave the apartment only a moment later and with that she closed her eyes to rest for a few minutes.

**A/N: Alright, so you are probably all asking 'why'd you make us think she died when she's really alive?!" Why you ask? Because I wanted to be evil and everyone just didn't realize the hint at the end of last chapter that showed she was still alive. The gasped call and tight grip, along with the last batch of lyrics at the end of the chapter before the authors note. If you'd read that properly you would have known that she was most likely still alive. **

**Though I am sorry that I scared you all into thinking I killed her(so far) but it got a positive reaction. I enjoyed reading everyone's reviews and people who don't usually review actually reviewed which was great. I'm also sorry that this chapter was shorter than most of the others but if I didn't post the chapter soon, people like Oceanwind might actually kill me lol and to be totally honest, even if it doesn't always seem this way but I actually value my life at the moment. **

**I'm glad that everyone included Denzelle in their reviews though. It goes to show she wasn't forgotten and at least you can all see that she plays more of a part in this fic than any other bit beasts in my fic. **

**Anyways, please review!**


	21. When Times Get Hard

_**Chapter 21**_

Tori lay down properly on her back, pulling the blankets over her and fixing the pillows under her head. Her mother pulled a stool in front of the sofa and sat down so that she'd be able to keep an eye on her ill daughter. "So you two are going out?" she asked, a smile on her face.

Tori smiled and turned her head to the side a bit, "Where we that obvious?" she asked quietly.

"No. You're an excellent actress, you take a lot after me. _He_ was the one that made it obvious."

That exceptionally made Tori smile though she turned back to staring at the ceiling for a second before closing her eyes again. "Yeah, when he worries bout someone and I mean _really_ worries, he tends to forget about all he's hiding. I've learnt that."

"Is he the person you've been so worried about while here?"

"Yeah, he is."

"So have you two slept together?"

"Mom!"

"It's just a yes or no question." Maria laughed.

"The answer is no. Well, technically we didn't."

"Technically?" Tori's mother asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at the girl.

Tori sighed a bit in being questioned. "We share a bed, that's about it and whenever we actually get close enough to doing something, we get interrupted."

"Sharing a bed doesn't count." Maria told her.

"You asked, I just gave you an answer."

"I suppose that's fair."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Maria keeping a constant eye on her daughter to make sure she didn't fall asleep. "So what's dad doing?" Tori asked after a few minutes. It only dawning to her after so long that her father was missing from the scene.

"He's making dinner."

Tori visibly cheered up at the sound of that, seeming like she was already feeling a lot better. Then again with her childish side she thought it'd even be time for a joke, laughing a bit to herself. "Thank goodness…I thought that I'd be dieing with your cooking in my stomach."

"You're so kind to me. Then again you can't really blame me, I was a doctor before I was a mother and I was never much of a cook."

"You got that right."

**---In The Meantime- With Kai--- **

Kai was on his way to the Dojo when he started feeling ill again. Who wouldn't? He had seen the one person he cared about so much lying on the ground, dead and then suddenly breathing again. A clinical death, as it'd been called. It was terrifying to see anyone in a state like that and just at the thought of it, just at seeing the image of the dead girl brought the same old stinging to his eyes again. A feeling in his eyes which he didn't miss in the least, one he wished never existed.

Kai arrived at the Dojo, his reddening eyes cast on the ground, not taking in that the other's had looked up at him so quickly. "Hey, Kai." Tyson greeted, walking up to him, as did the others.

"You guys need to come to see Tori." Kai answered. His voice remained strong, he managed to pull it off this time at least since the last thing he wanted was for them to hear him or even see him break down. He hadn't looked up at them, not being too sure whether any tears were visible in his eyes or if it showed that he'd cried sometime during the day.

"Kai…"

"What's wrong, Kai?" Max asked quietly, placing a hand on Kai's shoulder.

Kai didn't say a word but turned round the way he came, ready to start heading back to the apartment. Sadly, he didn't get very far because Ray pulled him back and Max and Tyson dragged him over to the porch. All three pushed Kai down and Kai stared up at them, nothing really to say.

"What happened?" Tyson asked, all settling down beside him to listen.

"I went out for a walk, I met up with Tori's parents while out and they said Tori wasn't answering her phone or the apartment door so I went back to the apartment…" Kai stopped. Why'd he have to go through this all over again? It should've been Tori here explaining to them not him.

"And?"

"She was dead."

"What?!"

"She's fine now. Turns out it was a clinical death, she's at the apartment resting but she has to stay awake. She wants to see you…just in case she doesn't have another month like she thought."

"We should get going then…" Tyson started.

"Yeah."

Kai had been staring at the ground again but nodded slightly, "I'll catch up with you guys soon." He told them. Tyson and Ray nodded and got off the porch and ran off out of anyone's sight. "You can go, Max." Kai told the other teenager.

"You saw…her dead didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"You can't possibly be ok with that."

"Go, Max."

"I'll walk with you to the apartment." Max said happily, pulling Kai off the porch. Kai pulled his hand out of Max's grip, shoving both hands in his pocket as he walked away from the Dojo, Max by his side the whole way. Kai's eyes where always fixed on the ground, never looking up at Max, whereas Max always looked at him and he felt it. "Don't worry Kai, it'll be alright." He told him after a while.

"How can you be so calm? You were really close to her and…she became a part of this team after a while."

"I'm not calm Kai, I'm scared but we'll all get through it."

"That…doesn't help." Kai whispered after thinking about it.

Max sighed a bit and looked at Kai, still walking ahead of him. "At least you know you're not going to be alone through this."

"Shouldn't make a difference."

"You went through a lot alone, Kai. One thing I think Tori should have taught you by now is that you don't have to do it alone anymore."

Kai couldn't take that, what Max said at least. Tears gradually built in his eyes again and Kai's heart beat sped up ten times more than it usually would beat when he was actually his calm old self.

Max stopped and looked at his captain worriedly, "Kai?"

**_---Flashback--- _**

_"No more of those, 'I guess.' You've made it far Kai, don't forget that. You made it further than anyone had ever guessed and you did it by yourself. All I did was push you hard enough to realize that your time of doing it by yourself was up." _

**_---EndFlashback--- _**

Kai began to calm down, closing his eyes and resting against the wall till he could pick up everything he'd worked so hard to bottle up again. It seemed like he had no luck in bottling things up permanently anymore which was probably the thing that irritated him the most. "That's the last thing she had said to me before I left the apartment today."

"Kai…"

Kai ignored whatever Max was going to say next, pushing himself off the wall and walking past him. "We should keep walking." He said monotonously.

Max sighed and ran after Kai, quietly walking with him to the girl's apartment. Kai ran up the stairs to the apartment door, opening the door and walking into the living room, Max following close behind. On seeing Tori sitting up on the sofa, Max smiled and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the girl. "Hey Tori!"

"Hey, Maxie. How've you been?"

"Worried about you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I've eaten and I'm feeling a lot better now." Tori smiled happily, how'd she hide it so well? Was she really alright or was she just covering all this up? On each of the team's faces they all smiled at her, happy that she was feeling alright, happy that she was alright with what was happening around her. Each of them sat next to her on the sofa, each smiling so much that it made her smile, made her feel like nothing in the world really mattered.

Kai on the other hand was less cheerful and instead of joining the group, he walked out onto the balcony. He leaned against the railings, looking over, focusing on wherever his eyes set themselves. Someone walked up beside him and past him a mug filled with coffee. He looked up at the owner of the outstretched hand and saw Tori's father.

Kai took the coffee from his hand, whispering a quiet thank you. "Come inside." He told him.

"Need some air." Kai whispered, sipping the coffee after.

Theo older man looked down at his watch, sighing as he thought for a moment before speaking again. "It's already four-thirty, you've got no more than an hour." He told him, turning and walking back inside.

Kai took a deep breath, placing the mug onto the small table that was beside him. He rubbed his temples gently, trying to sooth the growing headache. He sat down at the table, running his hands along his arms where he could feel the scars he got through his own rage upon himself months before. Suddenly through so much pain he wished he could do the same as he used to but that would make situations worse. He'd tried so hard to stop, he wasn't about to let himself screw things up now. He'd tried for too long, so long that he'd only hate himself more if he messed up by starting again.

More to the point, he didn't want to disappoint Tori. They'd worked hard together to help him stop. He'd have to try his best to calm down every time something drove him to do stupid things like hurt himself. He'd get caught by Tori or Denzelle on his way to the bathroom with a blade and he'd be made to sit down and try to open up. It was all hard work, it took him ages to get through even the little things of talking to her about the little things that bothered him or hurt him.

It's not that he felt helpless without her because he didn't. It wasn't that he felt that he needed her all the time because he wasn't capable of doing things by himself. It was just that with her around he had a bit more control in his life. He just felt that he respected Tori a lot, so much that when it came to trying to please her than he wanted to and was all for it which in turn gave him more control in his life. It made some things harder but it made him feel like not everything in his life was out of control like he felt that he didn't always have to give into a temptation like self-harm to feel better. He had to admit that he was going to miss her when she was gone but he wanted to try get through it but he was going to need a lot of help. The problem to that was that he wasn't sure if he was capable of asking for help from his team, or from anyone else for that matter.

Even when he asked Tori for help, it was never easy. He rarely ever came out and said he needed help, come to think of it, it probably only happened about twice. He remembered one time it happened, he'd woken up from a nightmare, he woke up feeling ill in every possible way, he'd grabbed the nearest sharp object he could find and was on his way to the bathroom when Tori called him from near her room and Denzelle stood in front of him. It wasn't that hard of a memory to remember. He remembered what happened after that so clearly, it wasn't hard to remember because…making himself say those words where so hard, taking a huge slice of his pride at the same time. You don't forget doing something that takes away what's left of your pride, he knew that. He'd been made to go to the living room, sit down, try to relax and while being calmed down he was trying to pull together every bit of courage he had to ask her for help.

He couldn't deny that he had needed some help. He didn't want to be pitied or anything, he didn't want her to do everything for him or anything, he just wanted to be able to get some help from someone, someone who'd understand that he didn't want to be treated like he wasn't able to do anything for himself and she didn't treat him that way. She just gave him enough time and strength so that he'd be able to lean against her for support till he was able to pull himself together and be strong enough to do deal with things. There was a difference between that and being completely helpless but that didn't lessen the blow of asking for help and injuring his pride.

"Kai? Kai, are you feeling alright?" The voice broke through his thoughts after a while. Kai looked up at the owner of the voice, seeing Tori kneeling on the ground beside him.

"What?" Kai asked. He hadn't heard what she'd said or even asked, he'd been to distracted, wrapped up in his own thoughts to realize what she'd been saying. Although, now he was able to see how he was shivering, mostly from the pain of his heavily beating heart and the headache that was overwhelming him.

"You're shaking, are you alright?" Tori needed to repeat herself and to be totally honest, she hated it because it either meant he wasn't paying any attention to her or he was wrapped up in so many thoughts at once that he lost track of what was going on in the world around him and neither of those where any good.

"I'm ok." Kai whispered. He put a hand on his chest, silently hoping his heart rate would go by unnoticed. "Where are the others?" he asked.

Tori noticed the change of subject, glaring at him a bit but answered him anyway, "Dad is giving them some dinner. You've been out here ever since you got back, what are you doing?"

"Just trying to relax."

Tori wrapped an arm around Kai, her hands gripping his shoulders, a sense of support washing over the boy. "Just calm down, take things easy but come inside, you're going to get sick out here." She whispered in his ear.

Kai shuddered a bit from having her so close, from feeling her hot breath against his skin. "Just a while longer, I'll be inside soon."

Tori nodded slightly, "Sure. Do you need anything? Painkillers maybe?"

"How about a big bottle of alcohol, whatever you've got round this place?"

"Somehow my parents wouldn't like it if they caught you drinking and I wouldn't like it either." Tori kissed him on the cheek but Kai turned his head away from her. She sighed a bit and stood up, "Be inside soon." She whispered, giving his shoulder another tight squeeze before stepping inside again and closing the sliding door.

Tori walked into the kitchen where her parents where, she picked up a box off the counter by the fridge. "So how is he?" Maria asked.

"I think he'll be ok." Tori answered her. Her voice remained low, just above a whisper actually, most likely to keep from the team hearing her. She took out to pills from the tray in the box and poured out a glass of water.

"It's not wise for you to be taking painkillers just yet." Tori's father said quietly.

"They're not for me." Tori informed as she walked back out. She passed by the others who were sitting on the sofa, plates filled with chicken curry in their hands where they hadn't seemed to notice her. She stepped back out onto the balcony, startling Kai this time. She placed the glass by the emptied mug of coffee and took his hand, placing the two painkillers in the open palm. "Just in case." She whispered to him.

"Thanks…" Kai whispered back, enclosing his fingers round the pills in hand. "Tori…" he started.

Tori had been on her way inside the apartment again when she'd been called, "Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" He looked up at her, the way he looked made her smile. He actually looked really…sensitive and even really caring.

"I'm feeling better, thanks." Tori smiled at him.

"I'm glad."

Tori stepped in front of him, kneeling down on the ground. She ran her hands along his arms, feeling the muscles tense beneath her gentle touch. "Things will be alright in the end, Kai. I promise you that and like you…I don't go back on my promises." She was so quiet before closing the small gap between the two in a soft kiss.

In the time that happened, burning increased on both their faces. At the same time a tear slipped from Tori's eye, it could be the last kiss she'd ever had and if she were to die within the next ten minutes, she would have died happy. She would have died with the love of her friends and family surrounding her. When they parted for a second, Kai saw the tear slowly slipping down her cheek and kissed it off the skin. "Let's go inside." Tori whispered shakily, placing a hand out in front of him.

Kai picked up the glass of water and taking a gulp of it, he swallowed the two pills he'd been given. He picked up the empty mug and glass and took Tori's hand, standing up and following her inside. He left the things in the kitchen and sat next to Tori on the sofa, speaking to the others occasionally but otherwise just listening to the conversations that went on between his friends.

Kai kept an eye on all his friends throughout the conversation. He really was afraid of losing any of them and he had been for a really long time. Most likely why he could never bring himself to talk to them about what was wrong with him, thinking they'd get fed up of him or something and leave him alone. But now it was different, Tori was the one that was leaving him and the only mistake he made was getting close to her.

Well…it wasn't a mistake per say. It was just that if he hadn't gotten close to her than he wouldn't feel so bad about losing her. It would hurt but it wouldn't hurt this much. But then again, when thinking about it, he wouldn't have gotten any better, he wouldn't have overcame some things that he couldn't have done by himself. Needless to say, the whole situation was confusing and worrying. He needed to realize he couldn't have changed what he'd done but even after thinking about it for a while, he thought he wouldn't have changed anything. You can't really regret falling in love, especially when it ends up being one of the best relationships you've ever been in.

Kai pulled himself out of his own thoughts, hoping to avoid being called out of it or being even caught staring at the ground again. Tori was sitting in between Ray and Tyson, Kai had lost all sight of the conversation but whatever it was it was making Tori very happy because she was smiling the whole way through. Kai got off the sofa and left the room, the others hearing the bathroom door closing behind the team captain. Tori turned from looking down the hall to looking back at the others, a hint of worry in her eyes even though the smile on her face never ceased.

"Is he alright?" Tyson asked her.

"I'm not even sure at the moment." Tori answered quietly. "But give him some time, it'll get easier on him."

"What about…us?" Max asked, even quieter than Tori was, tears already in his own eyes.

Tori smiled, looking down at Max who sat on the ground in front of her. She ran a hand through his blonde hair, still smiling caringly like she always did. "You'll all be alright, you have each other and you'll get through it."

"It won't be easy." Ray pointed out, sadness in his own voice.

Tori smiled and nodded a bit, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground after that. "So I've heard but…you'll manage."

"It's not fair that we have to lose you like this." Max whispered, tears falling freely from his eyes.

Tori had tears of her own slipping from her eyes, moving forward and wrapping her arms around the youngest blader. "I'm sorry Maxie, it's not fair but you'll be fine, all of you will be, even if it doesn't look that way now." Ray and Tyson forced a smile on their own faces, wrapping their arms around the girl too in a quick hug.

From by the door Maria and her husband watched the group hug, enjoying the sound of their daughters laughter and happiness. "She's alright." Maria whispered.

"Yeah, she's just fine." The two adults turned and walked away, entering the Kai's room to leave the others alone.

**---That Night--- **

Tori lay back on the sofa, exhaustion constantly pulling her under but she refused to sleep just yet. Tyson, Max and Ray had noticed that she was getting tired and Tori's dad had pointed out that she was allowed to sleep so they decided to leave her to it. Kai on the other hand, sat on the ground beside her, keeping a caring hold on her hand. Tori's eyes kept closing but shooting open again when she fought back the exhaustion. "You know…it's alright to fall asleep now." Kai told her quietly.

Tori closed her eyes for a moment and smiled, "I have company." She told him.

"It doesn't matter. Get some sleep."

"Will you get some?"

"Soon."

Tori nodded slightly, a smile on her face as she closed her eyes and fell asleep, the sweet smile never leaving her face. Kai placed a kiss on her cheek before sitting back a bit and resting his head on his arms, his eyes holding a firm gaze on the girl's face in case something happened. He stayed that way till he fell asleep, peacefully for someone who had been worried for so long.

Maria stepped into the room, smiling just slightly when she saw the two teenagers sleeping. "Peter, come in here." With her words her husband came up behind her, looking into the room where his wife had been looking. "Think we should wake him?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Nah, leave him alone. This is probably the most sleep he's going to be getting for a while so we'll leave him alone." He answered. "Besides…he's already had to deal with the orders of our daughter, let's not make things worse by being like her." He smirked.

Maria laughed at that, leaning back against her husband. "Yeah that's true but we've got to look after him, you know that right?"

"Yes, that's for certain but we don't know much about him so we have to lay off, leave the guy alone unless it's life threatening or concerning his health. His personal emotional problems are things he solves with his friends."

"I've been through this before, you remember that right?"

"Of course I do." Peter kissed his wife on the cheek and left, going back to the bedroom.

Maria smiled a bit while looking back at him. She turned back to the couple in the living room, she walked over to the two, pulling the blanket higher over Tori and putting another one over Kai's shoulders. She watched Kai shiver for a second, turning and leaving the room once she saw he was alright.

Tori slowly began to wake up though, eyes fluttering open. She looked down a bit at Kai, she closed her eyes again, smiling happily, tracing her fingers through Kai's soft two toned hair. In seconds she fell asleep again, the movement of her fingers in Kai's hair stopping but waking Kai. He looked around tiredly and a bit confusedly, he felt Tori's hand falling at the back of his neck making him smile.

Kai leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek before he got off the ground. He stroked Tori's hair for a moment, watching her even breathing was somewhat comforting to him. He quietly stepped out onto the balcony, closing the door and sitting down on the chair he was on earlier that day. "It'll be fine." He tried to tell himself.

"Kai?" A voice called quietly.

Kai turned a bit and saw Maria standing behind him. He turned away from her again and answered monotonously as always, "Yeah?"

"It's late, go get some sleep, you can take Tori's room."

"I'll be in a little later."

"No, Kai. You're going to get very sick if you keep this up."

"I'm fine."

Maria sighed and sat on the other chair at the table, resting her arms on the table. "I didn't see you eat today though."

"What part of 'I'm fine' do you not understand?!" Kai asked rudely.

"I know what that means but I don't believe you when you say that you're fine. You aren't and anyone can see it." Maria tried to sound as wise as she could, hoping that something would get through to him. Kai didn't say a word to that, just kept staring out over the balcony at the streets below. "So how'd she help you?" Maria asked after a while.

"What?"

"She helped you with something, what did she help you with?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Kai replied harshly.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" Peter asked, walking out. It looked like Maria had forgotten to close the door behind her, making it easier for her husband to hear them.

Kai turned away from him, getting up and leaning against the railings.

The two adults looked at Kai before Maria turned to her husband, "Nothing, we were just talking." She answered.

Peter nodded slightly and went back into the apartment, being sure to close the door behind him this time. "You can go back inside, I'll be inside soon." Kai told Maria after a few minutes of silence.

"It's best if you go in now, get something to eat and go to sleep."

"I want to stay outside, I don't need to eat and I'll sleep later." Kai sighed. He hated having to argue with someone even though he tended to do it a lot. Worst of all, he wasn't arguing with a team mate or anything, he was arguing with his girlfriend's mother.

"You do need to eat and you should be sleeping Kai."

"Leave me alone." Kai turned his head to the side and broke his words down as he said that, making it extra clear for her to hear him.

Maria stood up and stood next to Kai, leaning against the railings like he was. "You're really going to miss her…aren't you?"

"What the hell do you think?" Kai lashed out. More than anything you could see the pain and sadness shining through in his eyes, being far too ill and tired to try to hide it from her.

"You have your friends for help Kai, and now you have me and Peter for help. We're all going to go through the same thing, so we can help each other."

Kai grew angry but more than angry he was struck with pain for having to go through this conversation again, "You don't know me! Don't you get that? No one knows me, only she does and now I'm losing her." He barely had time to realize what he was saying but in the end it made sense. All he really wanted was to be cared for and for someone to know what went on in his life and he had that, for a while anyway. "She did help me, I'll admit that much and she has changed me too much!"

"Some change is good, Kai." Maria said quietly.

"This isn't! I went through pain for the past eighteen years and for fourteen years I wasn't allowed to cry but today was a wake up call, giving me a taste of what's going to happen to me when she's gone and I don't like feeling that way. I don't want to act like that again. Ever."

"You're human though, Kai and I'm really sorry you went through so much but you're still human, like everyone else and sooner or later you were going to break down anyway."

"Well I broke down, now I want this to stop." Kai turned round, leaning his back against the railings, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling how fast his heart beat was.

"Kai…" Maria started quietly. She placed a hand on his arm, trying to find the right words to say, she just didn't know what to tell him anymore.

Kai shrugged her off, "Good night." He said monotonously. He walked inside and Maria followed him but remained in the living room. Kai in the meantime went to the kitchen, got a glass of water and walked to Tori's bedroom.

Maria sighed and followed him, opening the door again after he'd slammed it shut. "Kai…"

"Don't you knock?" Kai asked bitterly. The whole thing faltered when Kai was forced to sit back on his bed, eyes becoming unfocused before he broke into a coughing fit. Maria gasped and stepped closer to him but Kai put a hand out in front of him, stopping her from moving closer to him. Kai closed his eyes and his coughing slowly subsided but the shaking of his shoulders didn't end completely.

"Kai! How can you see this as right?"

"Go…" Kai breathed.

"You're not ok."

"Whatever but either way, you're not helping." Kai told her. "Look…I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just trying…well I don't even know what I'm trying to do at the moment but I working on this."

"But Kai, you don't look well."

"I'm fine, it's nothing some sleep can't solve." Kai lay down, resting his head back on the pillow, exhaustion dragging at him every second.

"Look at yourself, how long has it been since you've eaten something?"

"This morning, I took an apple."

Maria looked on at him, shocked would be putting things lightly, "That's it?!"

"Yeah."

Maria raised her hand to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Alright, just get some sleep but tomorrow I'm making breakfast and you're eating something."

"Sure. Now, could you possibly lower your voice?"

Maria nodded and pushed Kai's hair away from his face. "Good night, Kai." She whispered and quickly and quietly left.

Kai opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling, his vision still a bit unfocused. Tears stung his eyes a bit, _'Dranzer…' _He called out.

_'Yes Master?' _

_'Do I really look that unhealthy?' _

_'Master…' _

_'Just answer me…please.' _

_'Master, you just don't look like you're feeling well. That's all it is.' _

_'That's it?' _Kai asked worriedly.

_'Yes Master.' _

Kai went quiet, sat up a bit and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the ground beside the bed and kicked off his shoes. He lay back in bed, wincing a bit as his neck hurt from being so tense but got the strength to pull the blankets over his still slightly shaking body. He turned onto his side, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes to sleep. Unknowingly, his fingers traced along his shoulders and stomach, feeling how thin he'd actually gotten with time, even though all his muscle was still there. After a few minutes of fighting the exhaustion off, Kai failed and fell asleep.

**A/N: Another chapter that's a day early. I was getting tired and so since it's already a long chapter I thought I'd post it a day early rather than leave it waiting on my computer. So what did you think of this chapter? I tried to get through Kai's thoughts in this chapter since in some other chapters I got more of Tori's thoughts and maybe even the team's thoughts but never really a chapter that focused more on him. Well please review this chapter and I'll get working on next chapter as soon as I get some sleep and food in me. **

**By the way, I'm sorry if Kai seems out of character in these few chapters but I'm trying to get what is planned out but still trying to keep him in his character but I think I'm failing quite a bit. Anyway, give me your opinion on that too. Please review everyone! **


	22. Fear and Trauma

_**Chapter 22**_

Kai winced slightly, feeling a burning pain all over him. Daring, he tried to open his eyes, wincing a bit more from the bright light that shone from the light on the ceiling. He turned his head to the side to avoid the light, seeing Tori lying there, smiling kindly back at him. "Hey." She sounded so careful, like there's something that made her act so cautiously towards him. Kai sat up quickly, though his head began to pound painfully in his skull which made him reconsider his actions. "Hey, hey, calm down." Tori gently pushed him back down, dabbing a wet cloth against his forehead. Kai turned to look at her, confused out of his mind. Tori nodded in understanding, she had to explain. "You slept pretty well last night but you developed a fever early this morning." She whispered.

Kai groaned a bit, hands reaching up to rub his temples lightly. "Are you alright?" He asked. His voice came out quiet and raspy, he couldn't help it, nor control it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Though mom and dad decided it'd be safe if they took me to the hospital for a check up." Tori continued dabbing the cool cloth against his forehead and burning cheeks.

"And?" Kai sat up again, another pointless action which he couldn't really help, one that came natural to him now.

"And I still have a month like we all thought so don't worry." Tori answered with a smile.

Kai drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes and lying back down properly. "So what time is it?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Almost midday. Mom made you something to eat today and she's right, I think you should get something to eat and keep it up."

Kai nodded slightly, suddenly relaxing completely. Tori smiled a bit in the meantime, pushing his hair away from his dripping forehead as she watched over him. After a few minutes of silence, "Tori…"

"Yeah, Kai?" Tori looked up at him properly, smiling back as always.

Kai looked more serious though, seeming like he was far off in thought and looking like what he was thinking about was really important to him. "Have I really changed?" he asked.

"Sure, Kai, for the better." Tori smiled, "You were a great person to begin with and now you're even better but you're still your own person."

Kai tried hard to take in what she was saying, nodding again once it finally sunk in properly. He placed his hands behind his back, pushing himself to sit up again. He got out of bed and walked over to the door, pausing for a second, turning his head to the side to speak to her, "I'm going to go have a shower. I'll have something to eat after." He sounded like he almost always did, monotonous. His voice never seemed to change, even with her, because really and truly, deep down, he was still the same person, he just opened his eyes to a new time where something's didn't need to go the way he was taught. All he did was need to adjust to that time properly. He left without another word and Tori heard the bathroom door close.

Tori was alright with what he wanted and didn't mind the way he acted. He was always kind to her when he needed to so when he acted all cold-hearted around her she didn't mind it because she knew it was just his character, the way he acted and the way he dealt with things and she never intended on changing who he was, she just wanted to change that part of him that hated himself and make him realize that he wasn't all alone in that little world like he thought.

She smiled happily, she was proud of how things worked out at the end of the day. She felt happy that he got so far by himself and she felt even better that he was slowly learning how to trust some people, that now some people actually had a chance of getting through to him. She lay back down properly, nuzzling her cheek into the pillow, wrapping her arms around her own waist for some warmth. A light knock was heard against the wooden door frame and Tori opened her eyes and looked up, seeing her dad smiling in the doorway. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked her from where he stood.

Tori nodded happily, "I'm doing fine, I'm not even feeling any pain which is really good."

Peter smiled at her too, "That's good news then. So your friend's awake?"

"Yeah, he went to have a shower. Mom made him breakfast but since he slept in he'll have a big lunch instead."

"That sounds fair at least."

"Yeah, I'm just going to rest until he's back here."

The loving father nodded towards his daughter, "Alright but tomorrow your mom and I have to leave again, we're off to India next and our flight leaves early that afternoon so we want to have dinner with you tonight."

Tori beamed happily, sitting up hurriedly, "Great!"

"I'm going out to buy the paper. I'll see you a bit later." Peter turned away from her and left with that.

Tori lay back down, smiling happily that things would be just like old times, just for one more night before things changed for the worst. She closed her eyes again, yawning exhaustedly again but felt that there was no need to try to sleep. She heard quiet footsteps that entered the bedroom and her eyes shot open again. Kai had just walked into the room, dumping his clothes on a chair in the corner of the room. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine." Kai replied. In saying that, he was very convincing so Tori didn't worry about him too much when he said that.

Tori got off the bed as Kai was on his way out of the room again but Tori caught up to him, stopping in front of him. She smiled up at him supportively, wrapping her arms around his waist, giving him a quick kiss. Kai didn't seem to be up for anything at the time but placed his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her, his eyes holding a sincere explanation of how he was feeling. Tori understood and let him pass by her.

Tori followed close behind, leaning against the kitchen doorway. Looking on, a sad look on her face she watched as Kai settled down at table and tried his best to eat something, hopefully trying to get his body used to food again. With every bite of food he took Tori felt even worse, thinking about how much frustration was going on inside of him. Frustration for letting himself come to the point where he had to force himself to eat and frustration for not being able to.

Tori walked over to him quietly, standing behind him, putting her arms around Kai from there. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered quietly in his ear, "I'm going to go change again. Keep this up, you'll feel better." She kissed him on the cheek and turned and left the room. After she'd got back from the hospital Tori had changed back into her nightgown, feeling she was much more comfortable than she would be in her clothes walking around the house.

The teenage girl walked to her room, walking up to her wardrobe and picking out some, preferably, more comfortable clothes. She picked them up and walked to her bathroom, dumping her clothes onto the counter. She sat on the side of the bath, starting to run the hot water as she undressed. She stepped into the warm water, relaxing into the water, closing her eyes. She opened her eyes again, sitting up and reaching forward to switch off the still running water.

She washed herself off properly, wiping all the soupy bubbles off of her pale skin. She groaned slightly, once again seeing how pale and skinny her arms where, a burden she carried from years of hospitals and medication. She got her soaking form out of the bath, wet feet landing on the carpet by the bath while she grabbed a towel from the nearest hanger. She changed rather quickly and without much of a problem, apart from a few dizzy spells while pulling on her short black skirt. She dressed up, checked the mirror, picked up her clothes and stepped out of the bathroom.

She dumped her dirty clothes in the laundry bin and left the towel in her room. She walked to the kitchen, smiling when seeing Kai still there. He was resting his head in his hand, now moving his food from one side of the plate to the other, feeling too stuffed to eat anymore. Maria was currently leaning her back against the counter, standing behind Kai, her arms crossed while she looked over him with worry. "Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tori asked, gaining the attention of the other two people in the kitchen.

Maria nodded and pushed herself away from the counter. She stepped outside in the hallway in front of her daughter, "Yeah?"

"You're hovering."

"I am not hovering." Maria protested.

"Yeah you are. Just leave the poor guy alone for a while, if something's wrong then I'll sort it out." Tori told her confidently.

Maria sighed, resting back against the wall. "He speaks to no one, so I see why you worry about him."

"I try not to worry, I'm failing at that but I'm going to help him and if he knows what's good for him, he'll tell me if he needs help."

"He'd better." The worrying mother muttered. "I'll leave him alone but do something about this, get him to come to dinner with us tonight at least."

Tori sighed, thinking for only a moment, "I'll try but I'm not going to bother him with it."

"That's something at least." Maria smiled a bit and turned in the direction of the spare room, the room she'd stayed in with her husband the night before.

Tori looked on after her, "Hey mom…" she called to get her mother's attention which she got quickly. "Thanks." She whispered, smiling, glistening tears in her eyes.

Maria smiled back, tears almost welling up in her own eyes. She walked quickly again to her young dieing daughter, pulling her arms tightly yet gently around her.

Kai watched the sweet family sight from the kitchen door, smiling inwardly at the bonding of a mother and daughter, of a daughter with her family. Unfortunately, he could never have any sort of relationship with his own family. They were either dead or deranged, either way, having a relationship with them was impossible. He stepped into the kitchen again, settling down at table, another horrible feeling nagging at his heart for no reason. The sight of food again made him ill so he pushed the plate aside and rested his head on his arms on the table. "Hey, Kai." A strong hand gripped Kai's shoulder for a second before it slid off.

Kai lifted his head up and looked to his side, seeing Mr Komatsu pouring out a drink. "Hey." He was quiet as always and he couldn't really help it these days, it just came out that way.

"Slept well?"

"Yeah."

Mr Komtasu leaned back against the counter as he sipped his drink while thinking. "My daughter was really worried about you this morning, things are alright?"

"They're perfectly fine. She just gets worried too easily."

"Hey, she gets that from her mother." Peter smiled.

Kai smirked at his comment and replied, "That she does."

"Well it's a good thing you're alright." Mr Komatsu said, a minute before leaving the room without another word.

"Yeah, it's great." Kai muttered to himself, closing his crimson eyes again.

"Hey, Kai." Tori smiled, kissing Kai on the cheek. "How are you feeling, honey?" she asked, kneeling on the ground beside him. She felt Kai shrug slightly, clearly he knew he wasn't well and couldn't really deny it, just passed it off with a shrug. "You don't need to eat more for now," she whispered, while her gentle hand went to feel his forehead. "Go lie down." She ordered, sitting up, picking up his plate and placing it on the counter for her mom to clean up later.

Kai didn't even bother to argue with that, feeling the heat in his face growing too much for him to keep sitting there feeling bad. He got up, as fast as he could and walked into the living room, setting his aching body down on the sofa. He winced, resting his head on the arm rest of the sofa, turning on his side and closing his eyes again. It's a Saturday and he couldn't believe he was spending another one inside and sick. If only he could do something to fix everything in his life, in hopes things will begin to get better. But a change like that would take a lot of time and effort and now he was slowly working on getting better, though he hated it that it made him feel so ill.

He heard Tori walk into the room and settle down on the sofa opposite him, keeping a worried eye on him, that much he knew. He turned onto his back again, sitting up just slightly and propping his head up with a pillow. "You aren't planning to stop worrying are you?"

"I'm not worrying, just get back to resting, you seem to need it."

Kai sighed disapprovingly, the exhale making feel dizzy and even more heated. Tori got off the sofa she was on and sat down beside Kai, running her hands along his chest before giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. "I'll get my dad to come check on you." She whispered quietly in his ear before slowly getting off the sofa again.

Kai's eyes shot open again and his hand viciously grabbed Tori's wrist to stop her from moving away. "Don't. Leave your parents out of this." He told her coldly.

"They're worried and they're here so they're already in this so just let someone check on you."

"Leave them out of this." Kai ordered angrily.

Tori pulled her hand out of his, sighed and slowly left the living room, leaving Kai alone in pain. Tori ran down the hall, knocking lightly on her the spare room's door, "Come in." was all she heard from her dad.

Tori hurriedly opened the door and stepped inside. Her dad was sitting on the bed with the newspaper open in front of him and he'd been in the process of turning a page which he'd paused from doing when she'd entered. "Dad can I ask you a favour?" she asked quietly, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Sure honey, what is it?" Her father neglected the paper and turned completely to look at his daughter and hear her request.

"Kai isn't well, he's still got a strong fever and I need to you to check on him. He doesn't want you there so give him some time so he doesn't know I ratted him out but I just need you to check on him." Tori said hurriedly, words running over each other, giving her father little chance to keep up with her.

"Woah! Alright, calm down, I'll check on him." Peter said, placing his hands on her shoulders supportively.

Tori took a deep breath, exhaling quickly, "Thanks." She breathed, leaning forward in her fathers arms.

"Don't worry." Peter wrapped his strong arms around his daughter, pulling her into a comforting embrace.

**---That Afternoon--- **

Kai lay sleeping soundly on the sofa while Tori and her father stepped into the living room where Kai still was. Peter sighed and sat on the sofa beside Kai, brushing the lank strand of hair from the young boy's forehead. "Dad…" Tori called from behind him.

"Be careful…I know." Peter smiled, looking back at his worrying daughter. "Go lie down before I have another sick teenager to deal with, and a worrying significant other of said teenager not leaving me alone."

Tori smiled at that comment and quickly nodded, taking a last glance at Kai before leaving the room.

Peter picked up Kai's hand, stretching Kai's arm out, eyes widening at the sight of the scars on the arm. "Kai…" A finger traced along a deep scar that was on Kai's shoulder once seeing it, "What are you doing?" he asked the lifeless form.

**---With Tori--- **

Tori lay down on her bed, worry still nagging at her but she thought hard about how now there was nothing she could do for Kai but let her dead check him over and see what's going to happen and what could be done to make Kai feel better or even just more comfortable. A knock was heard on her door and she looked quickly towards the doorway, seeing her mother, "Hey, where's your father?" she asked.

"He's checking on Kai right now."

"Finally decided that Kai _isn't_ going to come to you if something's wrong?" Maria asked, a hinted sound of victory in her voice.

Tori shook her head slightly and went back to staring at the ceiling in thought, "That's not the case." She started. "He's sick and I want to make sure it's nothing too serious, something not even Kai himself would know for sure."

"That's alright I suppose." Maria thought aloud, sitting by her daughter on the bed.

"Yeah, Kai may kill me later though." Tori smiled lightly.

Maria lay down too and smiled, "That's always one of his best options."

"Cruel." Tori muttered, her usual smile never leaving her face. That's when the tightening and sharp pain seared through her skull again and she felt weaker, this time it passed quickly though but it ended with her showing her mother how tired she actually was by yawning.

"You better get some sleep before Kai actually kills you for not looking after yourself. Or better yet, he'll kill your father and I for not looking after you." Maria stood up and walked over to the door, "Get some rest." She repeated before leaving.

"Mom!" Tori called quickly.

"Yeah?" Maria asked, popping her head in again.

"Leave Kai alone alright?"

"Sure."

Tori turned on her side, pouting slightly as she looked at her calendar where the days drew closer. She closed her eyes and she was just about to drift off to sleep when, "Tori!" was yelled down the hall and running was heard towards her room and a weight jumping onto her bed. Tori opened her eyes, being on the alert she sat up quickly, smiling and softening up when she saw it was only Max and Tyson, Ray standing by her bed.

"Careful guys, you could wake the dead." Tori laughed.

"Sounds good to me!" Tyson said hurriedly.

Tori laughed at that, Tyson would never change and that seemed to be a good thing. "What are you guys doing here? It's Saturday, you have the day off don't you?"

"Yeah but we thought we'd come see you." Ray answered.

"You don't want to see us?" Tyson said, faking to be hurt by Tori's words.

Tori broke into laughter with that and swung her arms around Tyson and Max, the two that were closer to her on the bed. "Of course I want to see you. What are you? Stupid?"

"You really want an answer to that?" Ray asked, grinning.

Tori thought for a moment before quickly shaking her head, "Come to think of it, no not really."

"Hey guys, that's not fair." Tyson complained.

Tori hit him lightly on the head, "Wake up, Tyson. Life isn't always fair." She reminded him.

Another knock on the door was heard and everyone looked up at Peter in the doorway. Tori got off the bed hurriedly and ran out the door, grabbing her dad on the way out so that she could speak to him alone. "So?" Tori asked urgently.

Peter smiled comfortingly, placing his hands on his daughters shoulders as he almost always did. "He's fine, a fever which should pass soon enough, nothing serious."

"That's all it was?" Tori asked, breathing deeply.

"Yes, that's all it was so stop worrying. When he wakes up we'll just see if his fever went down, it should have by then."

"Alright." Tori tried to nod but the rush got her dizzy. She slipped forward in her father's arms again, this time unconditionally as her heart stopped beating for a second and the aching pain in her head grew. Luckily it quickly passed as the other time and she stood up straight again.

"For now, just go have fun with your friends." Her father told her lovingly, kissing her softly at the top of her head. "Have fun." He whispered, letting go and leaving the girl to walk back to her room by herself.

Tori walked slowly back to her room, leaning against the door frame. "Hey guys, Kai's still asleep in the living room, let's stay in there with him, just in case something happens." She told the team.

"Sure." The team followed her to the living room, watching as Tori sat on the ground and glanced over at Kai.

The other three bladers sat on the ground with her, all worriedly looking at Kai. "Is he alright?" Max asked, looking at Tori with questioning eyes.

Tori nodded, "Dad checked on him and said he's only got a fever." She replied.

"He should be fine then." Tyson started, "I'm sure he can handle a fever."

Tori smiled really happily at the sound of that once realizing that Tyson was right. "Yeah, I'm sure he can handle it." All smiled and nodded in a final agreement to that but before they knew it tears were streaming from Tori's clear brown eyes.

Ray looked on sadly at the crying girl, "Tori…" he whispered.

"Are you alright?" Max asked her quietly. He moved closer to her and pulled an arm around her so she could lean against him if she needed to.

Tori smiled slightly, nodding as best she could as she wiped at her eyes. "You guys are really great. You've been amazing to me for so long…"

Tyson and Max were already crying at the few words she said, while Ray, being the oldest tried to hold things together. Tyson and Max hugged the shaking and crying girl, both of them saying other things to her that made her feel really great about herself, things that made her cry more for having to hurt them with her departure.

Tears stung Ray's own eyes and he reached forward and wiped the ones away from Tori's eyes, watching her smile up at him and all he could really do is smile back.

"Sorry to break up this little get together." A voice called. The all turned and saw Maria standing there, smiling at the sight of the friendship of all those that where in the room. "Tori…I'm going to go back to the hotel to pack my things for tomorrow. I'll be back in time for dinner, your dad is in the spare room and he'll stay just in case you need anything."

"Sure, thanks mom." Tori smiled, waving bye to her mother.

"Bye guys."

"Bye Mrs Komatsu."

"Maria." She corrected, shouting from down the hall as she got ready to leave the apartment.

The four teenagers laughed and the stubbornness and Tori pulled a pillow off one of the sofas, placing it on the ground and resting back with her head on it. "So what have you guys been doing on your days off?" she asked.

"Not much." Ray started to reply.

Max grinned and nudged Tyson, "But Tyson got a phone call from Hilary yesterday." He teased.

Tori smiled, "That's that old school friend right?"

"Friend is putting that a bit lightly now though, isn't it?" Ray went on with the teasing, everyone laughing as they watched Tyson turn bright red and start protesting, which he failed miserably at.

"Why am I always the butt of everyone's jokes?" Tyson asked, clearly annoyed at the obvious fun the others where having with him.

"Because you're just too easy to tease." Tori replied, matter-of-factly, an amused grin never leaving her pale face.

"Yeah, you make it too easy." Max agreed.

"I'll get you both for that one." Tyson crossed his arm, looking like a spoilt brat.

"I'll be waiting." Tori laughed, she really knew how to push Tyson to do crazy things, something she'd learnt from months of experience. Oh and of course, months of talking to Kai about Tyson's randomness.

"What about you though? You have been taking things easy right?"

"Of course. It's not me if I don't take things easy." Tori replied.

"That's true." Tyson said.

"Sometimes." Max added to his statement.

"Yeah, you're pretty tough on yourself when you want to be too." Ray told her.

"Yeah I know but the good thing is that I usually know when to relax." Tori said, before cocking her head to the side, "Unlike someone else in the room." She was referring to Kai and they all knew it, he was the only one that didn't know when to relax in most times. "But he'll be fine." Tori whispered, a bit more serious now, still with the confident and cheerful smile on her face.

"Yeah, we'll all be fine."

"After all you've been through together, you have to get through this and you will."

"Yeah, we're in this, we're going to help each other and we're helping Kai." Ray said.

Tori pushed herself into a seated position, smiling lightly, the friendship of the team getting to her. "Thanks. He needs friends as good as you guys. He's lucky to have you, I'm lucky to have you guys too."

"Enough with that Tori." Max whined. "Before you get us crying."

Tori would have actually have laughed at that if it weren't for a bad feeling in her heart and stomach that stopped her from doing it. Her hearing faded completely for a moment and her head whipped from side to side in search for what was wrong. Then her eyes fell on Kai's trembling form, trying to sit up on the sofa and her hearing quickly picked up again and she staggered up and knelt down again beside the sofa. Kai looked fear stricken, tears welling up in his eyes, some dizziness and nausea going on too.

Tori grabbed Kai's hand, gently pushing him back into a lying position but Kai shook too much and wouldn't even let her touch him apart from her hand on his. Tori turned hurriedly to Ray, where the others had ran up behind her in order to try help. "Get my dad." She ordered.

Ray nodded and ran out of the room and pulled Mr Komatsu into the living room only seconds later. "What happened?" He asked, sitting next to Kai.

Tyson and Ray slowly pulled Tori away from Kai so that Peter could check on him and her worry about him only increased with every breath she saw him try to take in. Peter picked up Kai's hand, finding the strong beating pulse on his wrist before timing the panicking boy's heart rate, eyes widening as he stared down at his watch and kept counting. Kai's hand pulled out of Peter's after about five minutes and it gripped the side of his head painfully, resting back into the pillow as the laboured breathing slowed down but the sweat that dripped off Kai's forehead remained the same. "Kai…" Peter called.

It took Kai some time to focus fully on the voice, only hearing a loud beating going through his head but soon enough he focused his eye sight on the person looking down at him and soon after his hearing closed in on the sounds around him. He groaned at the sound of two or more people asking if he was okay, the sound of their voices cutting through his skull painfully. "Lower your voices." He told them weakly.

Tori knelt down beside the sofa, grabbing his hand quickly. "Goodness, you scared me half to death." She breathed worriedly.

"It looks like he almost scared _himself_ half to death too." Peter corrected, helping Kai to sit up.

"I need to go outside." Kai pushed himself up hurriedly and swung his legs over the side of the sofa and was ready to push himself up but was pushed back by five pairs of hands, "No!" being shouted out by everyone that surrounded him.

"You aren't in any shape to be going out just yet." Ray said wisely.

"Yeah, Kai." Max whispered carefully, a bit more cautious when talking to Kai as always.

"There's a medical kit in the spare room, so we can have you checked out." Peter started. A flash of fear reflected in Kai's eyes and Peter saw it and looked as comforting as he could as he continued. "Can you get up?"

Kai nodded slightly, sitting forward again, getting used to the throbbing in his skull before standing up without anyone else's help, help he couldn't accept from anyone there after what they'd just seen happen to him. Kai walked out of the room without another word, on his behalf or the others. Peter turned to his daughter who was looking after Kai, watching him walk into the bathroom, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, his brown eyes assuring her that Kai will be alright and that Peter wouldn't hurt him. Tori nodded hesitantly and turned round to sit on the sofa as Peter left to tend to Kai.

"What do you think happened?" Tyson asked, sitting down next to Tori, the others following.

Tori pouted, resting her head against Tyson's shoulder for some support, "I don't know."

"Your dad will find out though, then we'll see what we can do to help, then Kai can get better." Max said confidently, trying a smile as best he could to cheer up Tori.

Tori nodded, biting down on her lower lip as she thought. "Yeah and…maybe it was just a bad affect of the fever, maybe it got to him and it wont happen again."

"That could always be it." Tyson said. It was like the happiness in the room was contagious, it just started out with sadness and worry all around, then one person gave a positive remark and Tori would be happy and anyone who saw Tori beaming with happiness was bound to smile or laugh.

"He'll be fine." Ray tried to say, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself that.

A ringing sound filled the room and Tori leaned forward and picked up the phone. "Hello?" she answered quietly. Tori got off the sofa and walked to the other side of the room, looking out off the balcony as she proceeded with her phone call with her mom. The three teenagers just watched her nod after a while and put the phone back down on the table. "Mom wants me to get ready to go to dinner, you mind waiting just ten minutes till I get back?"

"Sure."

"No problem."

"Thanks." Tori smiled and walked out of the room quickly and down the hall to her bedroom. She looked through her wardrobe, thinking of what she could what she could wear for the night. She sighed, settling on wearing her short black skirt and a blank tank top and settling on the heels she'd been wearing that day. She closed her bedroom door and started the change, trying her best to ignore the intruding bit-beast who'd entered her room just when she'd closed the door.

"I don't think this is a wise thing to do…all of it." Denzelle said from her corner of the room.

"This doesn't concern you."

"It concerns my Mistress, so it does concern me too." Denzelle said angrily.

Tori picked up her beyblade from on her bedside table, listening in to what Denzelle said.

"You shouldn't be doing this and this is affecting many people! You shouldn't do this!"

Tori stood up, spun on her heel and threw her green and pink beyblade towards the offending bit-beast that yelled at her. Tori made eye contact with the bit-beast that had crouched down onto the ground before Denzelle disappeared and Tori walked out of the room and to the kitchen. There she met Max who looked her up and down before smiling, "I take it Kai is eating with you tonight."

Tori blushed heavily at his comment and nodded slightly, "I hope he can come with us at least, other wise I don't want to leave him here alone."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Max told her, taking her hand and pulling her back into the living room after she'd picked up her drink that she'd poured out.

The teenagers spoke amongst them for a few more minutes, through their chatter they hadn't heard the bathroom door open again and didn't realize Kai was out until they heard the front door close tightly behind the oldest teenager. Tori shot off the ground and was about to run out of the living room door when she bumped into her father and he gripped her shoulders, guiding her back into the living room and onto the sofa.

"Where'd Kai go?" Tyson asked, he was fast, and almost angry that Peter let him leave.

"I suggested he get some fresh air so he went for a short walk, he said he'll be back within half an hour." Peter replied.

"So what happened?" Tori asked, ignoring the others for the moment.

"He had a severe panic attack."

"What?!"

"There was a sudden onset of fear with little provoking stimulus. That lead to a release of adrenaline which brought in the person's body prepares for strenuous physical activity. His heart rate rapidly inceased."

"Like hyperventalation?" Ray asked.

"Exactly, like that. Anyway, because strenuous activity actually rarely ensues, the hyperventilation leads to a drop in carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and then in the blood. Which shifted pH in the blood, which in turn lead to many other symptoms, such as numbness, dizziness, and lightheadedness, all of which he did in fact feel. It is also possible for the person experiencing such an attack to feel as though they are unable to catch their breath, and they begin to take deeper breaths, which also acts to decrease carbon dioxide levels in the blood, again, something that happened to him."

"That sounds bad." Max whispered, more to himself than the others as he stared at the ground disappointedly.

"So if things where this bad, why'd you let him leave?" Tyson lashed out.

"Tyson!" Tori yelled at him. "I'm sure my dad has a reason for that, if he doesn't, then if there's a god out there it better help him." She threatened, her glare shifting from Tyson to Peter.

"I do have a reason for it. He needed to get away from here for a while, work off the adrnaline rush and get away from the trigger."

"So what was the trigger?" Ray asked him.

"I leave that up to you guys. I don't know what scares him, I don't know about anything that goes on in his life so I wouldn't know but considering he was asleep when it happened, I'd say whatever it is could have been transferred into a frequent nightmare."

"He has been having those a lot lately." Tori whispered, pouting as she kept her gaze fixed to the ground. "How can we stop it from happening again?"

"There's antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication but I wouldn't try that. I'd just leave him to work on this, if this is the only time this has ever happened. If it persists than he should get some medication for it. Repeated and seemingly unprovoked panic attacks may be a sign of a panic disorder, but panic attacks are associated with other anxiety disorders as well. For example, people who suffer from phobias may experience panic attacks upon exposure to certain triggers. "

"Is it safe for him to go out tonight?"

"He'll be fine with some time alone, he'll be back soon and back to his usual self so yes, he will definitely be fine for tonight."

"Alright then that means things arent too bad right?"

"Right so you all can stop worrying." Peter informed them all. "Tori…your mom will be here in about fifteen minutes." He said before getting up again and leaving the room.

"I hope Kai will be back soon." Max said, sounding a bit scared and upset about Kai.

"Yeah me too." Tori sighed, feeling just as upset as Max was.

For a moment, Tyson looked like he was in deep thought, surprising but true and he soon looked up at the others. "You think we should question him about it?"

"Sounds alright…" Tori started, feeling slightly uncertain though.

"But what if that triggers something?" Ray asked.

Tori sighed a bit before a few sobs started racking her slender frame and she broke down into tears. "Tori…" Ray whispered. He scooted over closer to her and pulled his arms tightly around her into a warm and comforting embrace. "Don't worry." He told her.

Tori nodded against the embrace, pulling her hand from around Ray so she could wipe away the tears from streaming down her cheeks. "I'll be right back." She told him, pushing herself up before leaving the room again. She walked up to the spare room and knocked lightly on the door but being called in seconds later.She stood in front of her father for a second, shifting uncomfrotably, not quite sure what it was that she wanted to ask him and what it was that she wanted him to tell her. "I want to know the symptoms, all of them so that I'll know if it happens again tonight." She told him.

"I doubt it'll happen again, Tori. Don't get so stressed out about it." Peter reassured her quietly, in hopes she'd just stop worrying soon.

Tori glared at him, a look on her face that said something along the lines of 'You'd better tell me or I'll give you the silent treatment for the rest of your visit.'

Peter gave in once seeing that, refusing to have hs daughter angry at him the whole time, "Alright, alright. The symptoms in his case would be, trembling, laboured breathing, heart palpitations, chest pains, sweating, nausea, dizziness or vertigo, light-headedness, hyperventilation, paresthesias, and sensations of choking, smothering and dreamlike and disconnected feelings, like feeling away from the world, distant. That enough?"

"Yeah but, palpitations?" Tori asked confusedly.

"It's when you're awre of your heartbeat, if it becomes too fast, too slow or just irregular. Look it up, I'm not a teacher."

Tori groaned and turned to leave the room, "If I were living longer after dealing with Kai, I'd have enough knowledge to be a doctor or a psychologist." She said aggrivatedly.

**A/N: Hey, how was that? It was extra long and I have a reason for that. I got my exam results and mom is mad bout them and stuff so I might be banned from the computer while with her so I will most likely be only updating on the weekends again. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think. Take care everyone! **


	23. Trapped

_**Chapter 23**_

Tori walked back into the living room, sitting back on the sofa next to Ray, a headache growing after a while. The downstairs doorbell was heard and Tori sighed in frustration with that, leaning forward in her seat. Ray placed a hand on her back, "Don't worry, I'll get it." He got up quickly and left the room when he didn't hear her give him a reply or anything. He came back in about five minutes later with Peter and Maria following behind him.

All of them sat around in silence, most of them glancing at Tori who looked like she was in pain but wouldn't let anyone close enough to her to let them help. Although, the team exchanged a few words with each other and Peter explained to Maria what had happened while she'd been gone. Though finally, they heard the front door lock being disengaged and Tori shot up and ran to the door to greet Kai. She smiled happily towards him, relieved he was back and watched as Kai tried to smile back. She grabbed his hand gently and carefully tugged on it towards the living room, "Come on, everyone's worried."

Kai sighed and sat down on the sofa in the living room, looking up he was met with everyone's worrying eyes on him. "What?" he asked.

"Are you ok?" Maria asked.

Kai growled inwardly, obviously frustrated that everyone was still on about his panic attack. "I'm fine, it was nothing."

"A panic attack like that is serious." Ray told him.

"Yeah Kai, you got to be careful with your health." Maria reminded him, her usual motherly instinct obviously kicking in.

Tori moved closer to Kai, looking on symphatetically that the poor boy was being ganged on by all the others in the room. Though, they were all right and she just couldn't tell him that, feeling she'd only make things worse if she said it.

"I think Kai has it under control." Peter said suddenly. All eyes suddenly turned on him and he was quick to answer all their puzzled looks, "I'm just saying that I think he's handling it well and I think it's not that big of a risk."

Tori thought for only a moment before shaking her head slightly, "The fact that he can control his emotions, doesn't make this any less dangerous to him." She pointed out wisely.

"But since he can control them, he's got a better chance of holding it off long enough to have someone next to him to help him and he's got a better chance in general of not having another panic attack." Peter said.

"And what if it doesn't? Then Kai is stuck having these for as long as they last which may be a long time." Tori argued.

"Stop it!" Kai lashed out angrily. Clearly, the boy couldn't take the tension in the room any longer and took the silence from his sudden outburst and used it to explain something to them, "Panic attacks, severe or not, occur in different people at different times, I don't have a problem. This probably won't happen again so you don't need to go on about it; if you do you're only going to make things worse."

To both who were arguing what Kai said almost completely made sense to them and both where quick to shut up after he spoke. "I guess he kinda has a point guys." Tyson said quietly.

Kai sat back against the sofa, "Whatever happened to the time where you guys all ignored me and didn't care about what happened?"

"It disappeared once I showed up." Tori answered him a bit irritably.

"Noticed." Kai muttered.

"Well Kai, we should get going…we know that Tori's going out to dinner tonight so we'll leave." Ray started, "We'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, standing up, followed by the others.

"Sure…I guess." Kai answered quietly.

Tori walked the others to the door, talking to them outside the door while Kai was stuck alone in the living room with her worrying family. Thankfully by the time she got back to the living room the three still where sitting in silence which probably meant that they hadn't spoken to each other and Kai hadn't gotten stressed out or anything. "Kai, are you ok coming to dinner with us?" Tori asked carefully, sitting beside him on the sofa.

"I'm staying here." Kai told her coldly, not even looking at her.

"Some fresh air and a regular meal will do you good." Peter told Kai, sitting forward in his seat.

"Yeah, Kai and it'll be fun." Tori told him. She picked up his hand, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him, or maybe even possibly an emotion, which she got none of both.

"Yeah and we really want you with us Kai. Tori probably won't have a good time unless you're there anyway." Peter pointed out clearly to him.

Kai opened his eyes and glanced at Tori, seeing her pouting and seeing how much she really wanted him to go with her to dinner. He didn't have enough in him to argue with any of them anymore and just nodded his head, silently cursing that he was pushed into going and silently hoping that the night would be over with quickly.

Tori smiled kindly at him, latching her arms around his neck as she pulled herself closer to him in a hug. "Let me talk to you in the next room." She whispered in his ear, her warm breath tickling lightly against Kai's skin.

The two teenagers got off the sofa and Tori pulled Kai to her bedroom, telling her parents before leaving that she was going to talk to Kai for a few minutes before they left. Once in the room Tori closed the door behind her while Kai sat down on the bed, a bit confused about why she wanted to talk exactly even though he didn't let it show on his features.

Tori stepped in front of him, lifting his chin so he'd look right up at her and wouldn't avoid her. "I want you to tell me if something goes wrong tonight, tomorrow and any other day." She said. She sounded angry in a way but…somehow it was mixed with fear at the same time. "If you feel unwell you have to tell me!"

"I'll be fine."

"I don't care what you say. This time, you're going to tell me everything that happens to you because if I lose you…I swear on my life…" She began to threaten but threatening hardly ever worked if she had tears streaming from her eyes.

Kai shook his head in disagreement, pulling his arms around her waist and stood up, pulling her against him into a gentle hug. "Stop talking like that. You're not losing me and you're not going to swear _anything_ on your life."

"This is your life Kai, and you're not taking it seriously!"

"Neither are you about yours." Kai retorted.

"My time is almost up anyway. But you have your whole life ahead of you."

"That doesn't mean you should take your life lightly."

Tori pushed Kai off her and onto the bed as she turned and walked away from him. "I'm not taking my life lightly." She said coldly.

"You practically died a couple of days ago and you're running about like nothing has happened." Kai yelled at her.

"I'm just not about to dwell on all the bad things, I want to enjoy my last month and besides, mom and dad would not let me out of the house or let me run about if they didn't think I was fine."

"Your parents should be more careful. They'll lose their daughter faster if they just let her run about all the time." Kai was angry, he hated that Tori could just sit around and pretend that what was about to happen to her didn't matter and that she wasn't tied down, even slightly, with all the things that happened to her before. He also hated, that even after all she'd been through, she could still take things easy and not be so uptight, more than hate her for it, he was just jealous of her, that she had that much in her to resist turning cold and harsh, something he couldn't have done.

"I just don't like taking things so hard and they know that." Tori had turned to him, yelling back at him with some anger flashing in her crystal brown eyes.

"Well if you're going to take life so damn easily than maybe you shouldn't deal with life any longer, then you can just hurry up and _die_!"

Tori gaped at Kai's words, the muscles of her body and face tightening. She tightened her fist and punched Kai in the face so hard to the point where he jolted back. Tori flicked her hand twice in hopes of getting the feeling back in her hand as she watched Kai touch his cheek where she'd hit him. Kai's head had just felt like it had been caved in and already felt bruising starting up, a long with some red on his face, feeling terrible about what he'd said to her. "Thanks." He muttered, slowly looking up at her.

Tori relaxed, putting a hand out and carefully touching Kai's cheek. "No problem. And anyway, I couldn't have you being so crazy around my parents." She told him, smiling.

Kai nodded in agreement and took the hand that Tori had against his cheek, "We should get going." He told her, she nodded and she followed him out the bedroom door.

Peter and Maria had been talking by the front door and both looked at the couple when they heard them walking down the corridor. "Hey what happened to you?" Peter asked Kai, catching sight of the slightly bruised cheek.

"I punched him." Tori answered casually as she opened the door.

Tori's parents both looked on shocked at their daughter, not believing they'd heard her say that and not believing she'd actually done it. "I deserved it." Kai told them, following Tori out and down the stairs.

Peter and Maria looked at each other inquisitively, confused beyond thought but just shrugging after a moment before following the young couple down the stairs.

**---At Dinner--- **

Kai sat back quietly in his seat. All he did was sit there for most of the time until the food came, just listening intently and commenting occasionally with what the other three at the table said. It had taken everyone at least half an hour to convince him to get something to eat. In the end he just got a burger and fries, then for about fifteen minutes after he was cursing himself for agreeing to eat something and hoping for so long that he wouldn't have another rough night because of it.

**---At Dinner--- **

Kai sat back quietly in his seat. All he did was sit there for most of the time until the food came, just listening intently and commenting occasionally with what the other three at the table said. It had taken everyone at least half an hour to convince him to get something to eat. In the end he just got a burger and fries, then for about fifteen minutes after he was cursing himself for agreeing to eat something and hoping for so long that he wouldn't have another rough night because of what he considered 'a foolish action.'

Then again, he realized that eating didn't take as much out of him as he thought it would, most probably because he'd eaten that day and his body was getting used to some food so it made things a bit easier on him. After the plates had been cleared and Kai sat back again all eyes turned to him. "How are you feeling, Kai?" Mari asked from across the table.

"Fine."

Tori smiled and placed a quick hand on Kai's forearm, "You want dessert, Kai?" she asked happily.

"No, thanks." Kai's words where always plain and simple, he didn't give longer answers when it came to questions like those, they were just ones he thought weren't worth more than a plain answer, with no longer answer to give anyway.

**---Later--- **

The four people sat casually on the stone wall of the beach, the wall that Tori and Kai practically always sat on when there. Tori was resting her head against Kai's shoulder, staring out at the waves like the other three when she'd fallen asleep against Kai. Noticing that she was long off in sleep Kai pulled an arm around her waist so she wouldn't fall or anything. "She's asleep?" Maria asked him after a while.

"Yeah." Kai smiled down at Tori's sleeping form, probably because seeing her relaxed was just a well-deserved reward.

"She worries about you a lot, you know that don't you?" Maria whispered quietly.

"I know." Kai nodded.

"You're only making it harder on yourself if you don't tell her what's wrong." Peter told him. "You should let her help, even if you think you'll be alone later."

"I'm fine doing it by myself."

"I don't think…you would have fallen so hard for her if you didn't need her help at all." Maria said carefully.

Kai turned his head to look at them, "Why am I of any concern to you?"

"Our daughter is worried about you and your well-being and I see that there are some reasons to worry. I may not know you well enough but being here and watching you like this gives us both the responsibility of looking after you since no one else obviously is."

"I don't need to be looked after."

Maria sighed and moved closer to Kai, but Kai turned his head away from her on instinct. "You don't realize how bad that panic attack was. Panic attacks like those just don't occur in a vacuum."

"I've been having them ever since I was a kid…I can handle them."

"None have ever been as bad as this one though, right?" Peter asked suddenly.

"Right." Suddenly Kai sounded as though he were ashamed of that fact. Like he didn't want to admit to himself that things where only getting worse the more he stressed himself out with things. That nightmare he had had…it had never seemed so horrible before. It's just that this time, it felt even more real than nightmares usually did to him.

Then the three heard a whispered singing voice and all turned to the still sleeping girl that lay beside Kai.

**_Atsui kimochi wa  
C'est la vie watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri  
C'est la vie anata wo aishitsuzuketai  
C'est la vie watashi ga watashi de aru riyuu  
C'est la vie anata ga anata de aru riyuu _**

Peter smiled, "Now I'll bet anything that she's singing to you."

Kai blushed, trying so hard to contain it when he felt the head in his cheeks, biting down a bit on his lip.

Maria laughed at him now, "Nice to see you turn red for once, Kai."

"Yeah." Peter agreed.

The two adults glanced at each other, still smiling towards each other, both thinking that Kai had probably had enough for one night. "Come on Kai, let's go home before you fall asleep here too." Maria joked, waiting for Peter to jump off the wall and let him help her off.

Kai sighed and pulled the still sleeping Tori into his arms and jumped off the wall and onto the sand. He winced slightly, feeling his side muscles being stretched but the pain passed after only a second of standing on the spot. "You want me to carry her?" Peter asked him when they just started walking.

Kai looked down at Tori and shifted her slightly in his arms before shaking his head, "Its fine." He replied.

They all walked back to the apartment in silence, Kai in deep thought while Peter and Maria walked holding hands, occasionally speaking to each other. Kai was first up the stairs to the apartment but managed to open the door anyway. He walked to the bedroom, not caring if Maria and Peter hadn't caught up with him. He gentle set Tori on the bed, pulling the blankets over her and watched her turn comfortably on her side.

The parents of the sleeping girl walked into the room and Kai stood by the door, watching Maria sit down beside Tori to check on her while Peter walked straight up to him. "Maria and I will be leaving for the hotel in a few minutes. Go get some sleep, you've had a long day."

"Yeah, in a few minutes."

"Sure."

"Peter…come here." Maria called, almost fearfully. Peter walked quickly towards the bed, looking down at what his wife was holding. She was pulling a bit of blooded cloth away from Tori's skin. "Blood transfer." She whispered.

"From?" Peter asked. It finally clicked and he turned back to where Kai was but now…the teenager wasn't there. "Kai…" he whispered sighing.

**---Fifteen Minutes Later--- **

Maria knocked lightly on the bathroom door, the room Kai was currently in and had been for the past fifteen minutes. "Hey Kai, Peter and I are going back to the hotel. We'll see you tomorrow." She called to the boy inside but waited there for a minute to see if he'd reply.

Kai opened the bathroom door, "Sure." He told her.

"Are you okay?" Maria asked carefully, taking in his form for anything.

"Fine." Kai answered simply, crossing his arms and tightening his grip on the sides of his shirt.

Maria smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him carefully, "Ok, take care of yourself." She let go of him and walked down the hall, "Good night." She waved before she disappeared through the door and the sound of the door being pulled shut was heard.

Kai took a deep breath and walked to Tori's room, he saw Tori there trying to sit up in bed. "Go back to sleep." Kai told her.

"I saw the blood on me…and it wasn't my blood." Tori told him.

Kai stepped close to her, standing just above her by the bed. It looked like he had some anger in his eyes, maybe a bit of coldness but after staring down at her and seeing some fear in Tori's eyes, the anger and coldness disappeared from his eyes and features. He lifted the hem of his white t-shirt just slightly so Tori could so the bandage of the cut on his side. He watched her look on at the cut with fear, tears welling up in them but at least feeling relieved that he had been sure to clean and bandage it, "Told you I'd take care of it." He whispered as he lowered his shirt again.

"I guess." Tori whispered to herself, lying down again. Kai lay down beside her, just lying on his back and staring at the ceiling as he almost always did. Tori moved herself closer to him and pulled an arm across his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. "If something happens, wake me." She told him, closing her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Good night."

"Night."

**---Next Morning--- **

Tori opened her eyes just slightly, turning onto her back and wiping the sleepiness out of her eyes. She turned back on her side when she noticed Kai had been sitting up, resting back against the headboard. "Kai…"

"Hm?" Kai turned his head to look at her.

Tori tilted her head a bit to the side in some thought, a pout on her face as there always was when she was worried about him, "Are you okay?

Kai smiled just a bit for her in reassurance. "I'm fine." He answered. "Slept well?" He whispered, lying back down on his side.

Tori smiled and nodded in reply. "You want to come with me to the airport?"

"No, I'll just leave you three alone for once. You've helped yourself in leaving _me_ alone with them." Kai replied with a smile on his face, shyly wrapping an arm around the thin girl's waist.

Tori smiled, pushing herself closer to him and kissing his neck softly. "It wasn't all that bad." She told him.

"Learn to only speak for yourself." Closing his eyes when feeling Tori's lips against his neck again.

Tori pulled away just slightly, "Was it that bad?" she asked him.

"Not bad, it's just that I don't like people on my case all the time." Kai replied. "And people worrying about me all the time only makes me feel worse."

Tori leaned in again, placing kisses on his lips and neck in between talking, "People worrying about you shows you that they _do_ care about you."

Kai couldn't help but gasp when Tori moved from kissing his jaw line down his neck again. "Being cared for has its limits." He whispered.

"I suppose." Tori pulled away, licking her lips before sitting up completely. "I'm going to go change." She kissed him on the cheek quickly and left the room.

Kai groaned and turned onto his stomach, "Exhausted." He muttered, closing his eyes again.

_'Are you alright, Master?' _Dranzer asked worriedly.

_'I'm fine, just tired again, that's all it is.' _

_'Are you positive that's all it is?' _

_'Yes.' _

_'Get some sleep then, Master. Mistress Tori will be going out soon so you can sleep peacefully and you won't have her worrying around you which will be easier.' _Dranzer tried his best at finding the best solution for his Master but considering that his Master almost always disagreed with what he said it always made it harder on him.

**_All day staring at the ceiling  
Making friends with shadows on my wall  
_**

**_All night hearing voices telling me  
That I should get some sleep  
Because tomorrow might be good for something _**

Hold on  
Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown  
And I don't know why.

_'I'll try to a little later.' _

_'You seem upset though Master, what's the matter?' _

_'It's nothing.' _

Dranzer sighed, obviously upset and annoyed that his Master was blocking him out too. _'There is something though. A struggle?' _

_'A struggle trying to keep things together.' _Kai told him.

**_But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell  
I know right now you can't tell  
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see  
A different side of me  
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired  
I know right now you don't care  
But soon enough you're gonna think of me  
And how I used to be...me _**

I'm talking to myself in public  
Dodging glances on the train  
And I know, I know they've all been talking about me  
I can hear them whisper  
And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me  
Out of all the hours thinking  
Somehow I've lost my mind.

_'You know that it'll be okay sooner or later and things can only get easier.' _Dranzer tried his best to say something…comforting or at least, something that Kai would understand as comforting. _'I've seen that the girl makes you happy, that's why I don't want to lose her either but we'll all get through it, you don't need to be told that again.' _

_'I'm not taking it hard about what's too happen, it's just that I'm having trouble with coping with some things already and I don't know what.' _

_'Then speak to Tori about it…she might be able to help you with it.' _

_'I'd only be burdening her and she really doesn't need it right now.' _

_'Would you rather she died thinking that you were fine?' _

_'She knows I'm not completely fine so she won't die thinking that.' _

**_But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell  
I know right now you can't tell  
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see  
A different side of me  
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired  
I know right now you don't care  
But soon enough you're gonna think of me  
And how I used to be _**

I've been talking in my sleep  
Pretty soon they'll come to get me  
Yeah, they're taking me away.

"Kai?" Tori called out to him, placing a large pressure on Kai's shoulder.

Kai's eyes shot open and he glanced around from his position, he was still lying on his stomach and he'd been resting his head on his arms which where on the pillow. His vision was still blurred at first but when he turned on his back and saw Tori sitting by his side his vision slowly cleared up.

**_But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell  
I know right now you can't tell  
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see  
A different side of me  
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired  
I know right now you don't care  
But soon enough you're gonna think of me  
And how I used to be _**

Yeah, how I used to be  
How I used to be  
Well, I'm just a little unwell  
How I used to be  
How I used to be  
I'm just a little unwell.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, eyes widening slightly at the sight of him.

Kai sat up, leaning back on his elbows for support, trying a smile at the same time. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"Eh? You don't look it."

"I've just got a headache, that's all it is." Kai pushed himself forward, lifting Tori's chin and gently setting his lips on hers.

Tori was about to go on before she pulled away slightly, "And you assume kissing me will make things all better?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"When have I ever been stupid enough to think that?"

"Never." Tori answered. Tori leaned in closely, sighing deeply as they continued to kiss each other with passion and immediately opened her mouth when she felt the bluenette's tongue grace over her lower lip. She moaned softly as she felt the other begin to suck on her lip, nipping at it tenderly. They both slowly pulled away, their faces flushed and their breathing faster than before. "Kai…" she stopped for only a moment and then kissed him again. Soon, Tori had pushed Kai back down onto his back and while the two went on with making out, Kai had undone the first two buttons of Tori's black shirt, then running his cold hands along her sides and back.

In the meantime, Tori ran her own hands along Kai's sides, always being careful not to touch the wound on Kai's side, though occasionally tracing her hand over it when she wanted Kai closer to her. After a while of being with each other on the bed, they both heard the door bell ringing and both parted, sighing heavily in between their heavy breathing. "If it's that damn bit-beast I'm going to kill her before she even becomes fully human." Tori whispered, though too tired already to sound angry.

"I'll help." Kai whispered, resting his head back into the pillow.

Tori got off Kai and ran to the mirror, straightening her messed up her before turning to Kai, "I'll go see who it is." She left quickly, Kai hearing her run bare-footed down the hall. Tori opened the door, smiling as she saw her two parents standing there. She looked down, seeing both her parents' hand luggage with them, "So I take it you two are leaving so soon?" she asked, Kai standing up beside her.

"You're so smart." Maria told her sarcastically.

"Nooooo. I'm just observant." Tori corrected, smiling.

Peter turned his head to the side, as though trying to avoid the sight of her, "If you were so observant you'd probably realized your shirt is undone."

Tori looked down at herself quickly, noticing that her father had been right. "Oh right." She said, almost stupidly as she buttoned up her already low cut shirt.

"Looks like someone started off the morning well." Maria smiled towards Kai, referring to what probably happened with Tori.

"Stop joking like that." Peter whispered angrily in her ear.

Tori smiled, "Nothing happened, it was just me being careless."

"That shouldn't be too hard to believe, Tori's known for being careless." Kai called as he entered the kitchen.

Maria turned her head to her husband, "He is right." She told him.

"What time is your flight again?" Tori asked, implying she wanted to get rid of them quickly.

Maria smiled at her, "We leave in three and a half hours so you have all that lovely time to stay with us." She wrapped her arm over her daughter's shoulders.

"Lucky me." Tori muttered sarcastically yet jokingly all the same, the smile on her face showing that.

"We may have that much time till the flight leaves but we need to get to the airport soon so we better get going." Peter pointed out to them.

"Yeah."

"So I take it that since Kai isn't dressed, he isn't coming with us to the airport?" Maria asked, loud enough for Kai to hear her from where he was in the kitchen.

Kai stepped out of the kitchen, opening his mouth to talk to her but pausing for a second before actually saying something. "I'm staying in today and I'll leave you three alone." He told her.

Maria looked a bit disappointed at first but smiled a second later, "That's alright."

Peter put his things down by the door and walked over to Kai, on instinct Kai slowly stepping back a step. Peter put a hand on Kai's shoulder, his eyes holding some sort of warm feeling to them along with some…honesty? "Take care of yourself Kai." He gave Kai's shoulder another supportive squeeze and turned back to the door and picked up his belongings. "I'll be waiting downstairs." He told Tori and his wife before disappearing back down the stairs.

Maria turned to Kai herself no and wrapped her arms around him carefully, still not even sure where it was he had been hurt. "You know where to find us if you need anything and if you're ever in a tournament, see where we are and maybe we could drop by." She smiled happily at seeing him smile and shift in her arms. "Take care of yourself and…I hope you give your friends a chance." She pulled away but kept her hands on his shoulders, the crystal brown eyes surfacing just like Tori's usual caring and worried ones. "Bye, Kai." She whispered, smiling and turning away and walking out the door.

When Kai watched on it was like he was watching the parents disappear and when Tori moved closer to him it was as though time slowed down. She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her hands on his chest, smiling up at him sweetly. "I'll be home later, if you're not feeling well than take a painkiller and get some rest and call me in case you need anything, alright?"

Kai nodded numbly, just standing there for a moment longer after Tori gave him a quick tender kiss on the lips and left. He rested back against the wall for a second, taking a deep breath. He pushed himself off against the wall and went to Tori's room, lying down in bed and pulling the thin blankets over himself. He lay there for a few minutes, tiredness constantly dragging at him but his stubbornness wouldn't allow him to fall asleep again. So instead of making it easier to fall asleep, he decided to get out of bed and go make himself something for breakfast. He'd heard his stomach grumbling while he'd been lying down and it may have sounded stupid but he was actually happy to be hearing that because at least it showed that things were slowly getting back to normal.

He went to the kitchen and picked up an apple like he did almost every morning. All he did was lean on his left forearm against the counter, the other hand holding the apple to his mouth as he ate slowly, the teenage boy being kept in deep thought the whole time. After a few minutes of being in the same place he shifted, turned and left back to Tori's bedroom. He lay back down in bed and loosely dragged the grabbed the covers back up over him. He leaned over the side of the bed, reaching under the bed in search for something. He finally grabbed something cold and pulled out a laptop and wire out.

Tori had always left her laptop under there but she'd never really used it that much since ever since she arrived in Japan she'd always been busy with things like work at the café, training the team, looking after Kai, school, homework, going to the doctor, amongst other things that she was meant to do.

He plugged the laptop in and patiently waited for it to start up, in the meantime placing it onto his pillow and he turned onto his stomach. He opened up a search engine and hesitated at first before typing something in, 'Anxiety attacks' being typed in with shaky hands and then the results slowly showed up. The closest thing he could find was, 'Types of Anxiety Disorders' and that's what he chose to read. As the page loaded his heart beat quickened slightly, being torn between wanting to read what was on the page or sparring himself a panic attack by closing the page and not reading it.

By the time the page was loaded completely, Kai had decided that he was going to read what was on there, considering he could always close the page if it got too much for him.

_**Types**_

**_Generalized anxiety disorder_ **

_Generalized anxiety disorder is a common chronic disorder that affects twice as many women as men and can lead to considerable impairment. As the name implies, generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation. In other words it is unspecific or free-floating. People with this disorder feel afraid of something but are unable to articulate the specific fear. They fret constantly and have a hard time controlling their worries. Because of persistent muscle tension and autonomic fear reactions, they may develop headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness, and insomnia. These physical complaints, combined with the intense, long-term anxiety, make it difficult to cope with normal daily activities. _

Already, Kai could tell things werent going to get any easier if he kept on reading. So far everythign that had been already thrown in front of him had made sense and was very alike to the way he was which didn't make him feel that much better, just made that usual sense of fear that had been written about grow inside his heart. He shook it off as best he could and just scrolled down and kept on reading.

_**Panic disorder**_

_In panic disorder, a person suffers brief attacks of intense terror and apprehension that cause trembling and shaking, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. One who is often plagued by sudden bouts of intense anxiety might be said to be afflicted by this disorder. The American Psychiatric Association defines a panic attack as fear or discomfort that arises abruptly and peaks in 10 minutes or less. _

_Although panic attacks sometimes seem to occur out of nowhere, they generally happen after frightening experiences, prolonged stress, or even exercise. Many people who have panic attacks, particularly their first one, think they are having a heart attack and often end up at the doctor or emergency department (or emergency room). Even if the tests all come back normal the person will still worry, with the physical manifestations of anxiety only reinforcing their fear that something is wrong with their body. Hightened awareness (hypervigilance) of any change in the normal function of the human body, will be noticed and interpreted as a possible life threatening illness by an individual suffering from panic attacks. _

_Normal changes in heartbeat, such as when climbing a flight of stairs will be noticed by a panic sufferer and lead them to think something is wrong with their heart or they are about to have another panic attack. Some begin to worry excessively and even quit jobs or refuse to leave home to avoid future attacks. Panic disorder can be diagnosed when several apparently spontaneous attacks lead to a persistent concern about future attacks. _

Kai minimized the window instantly after finishing that bit of writing, his heart beating so fast that he could suddenly feel his head throbbing painfully, stinging hot tears making there way into his eyes, not knowing what bit of what he'd read had really scared him the most. He pushed himself lower down the bed, resting his head on his arm, choking back on tears that welled up. Now he felt like all he was, was just all wrong and that nothing about him was any good.

_'Master…' _

_'Leave me alone.' _Kai growled angrily at the bit-beast.

_'But Master…' _

_'I said, leave me alone.' _Kai broke down his words, in hopes that the Phoenix would understand and leave him alone like he'd asked of him. Thankfully the bit-beast listened to him this time and left him alone to put together his emotions again. He hated that they were always such a mess these days and it obviously wasn't easy dealing with them all at once, especially since he hated feeling so…weak. He didn't have to suffer with those emotions for very long though because in a couple of minutes he'd fallen asleep asleep again, peaceful hours that passed that made him feel better when he didn't have to deal with nightmares or the world around him.

About an hour and a half after Kai had fallen asleep Tori walked into the bedroom, seeing Kai sleeping there still in the same postion on his arm and with the laptop on the pillow. She walked over to the bed and sat beside him on the bed and on pushing his hair away from his face she noticed the tear streaks on his face. She ran her thumb against his cheeks, wiping away the dampness that was still found on his skin. Then she caught sight of one file minimized on her laptop. She knew she shouldn't violate his privacy but she was worried and if it was that file that hurt him than she wanted to know what it was all about.

She opened the file and quickly scaned the page thoroughly, mouth gaping open slightly at all she read, even more shocked that Kai was reading such things and understood why those tear streaks where there when he slept. She picked up the laptop and placed it onto the ground beside the bed, then leaned down closer to Kai, giving him a peck on the cheek then stopped just above his ear, "Don't worry Kai. I promised you that it'll be alright and I won't go back on a promise." She pulled the blankets higher up on him and fixed his pillow, hoping that if Kai shifted later he'd rest on the pillow rather than rest on his arm the whole time, knowing full well that it wasn't comfortable. She got back up and left the room, stepping into the living room, stopping in the doorway when she saw Denzelle sitting forward on the armchair in the corner of the room, staring down at the ground.

Denzelle looked up, almost shyly and filled with guilt and embarassment, tears glinting in her eyes as she tried to find her voice to speak. "I'm sorry." She said, only loud enough for her Mistress to be able to hear her.

Tori smiled very lightly that the bit-beast had finally come out and said it. She walked over to her quickly, kneeling down in front of the human-Tiger. Denzelle was about to push herself off the sofa, not liking that Tori was beneath her but Tori kept her there, "You've shown me enough respect over the years." She whispered to her. Tori pulled Denzelle into a comforting hug and stroked her long hair caringly in hope to calm the girl. It seemed like the affect of what was to happen to Tori was beginning to take its tole on everyone, including herself. "You've been telling Kai and Dranzer for so long that it'll be alright, believe in yourself what you say." Tori whispered to her.

"I know, so much now, what Kai means when he says that its not going to be any easy." Denzelle whispered in her Mistress' ear, finally taking in the hug and slowly setting her arms around her superior.

"It won't be easy but you'll make it."

"How do you know?" Denzelle sounded so desperate for her own help now and she was scared…anyone could tell because as the time of Tori's death drew near, Denzelle became more like a total human being.

"I just do." Tori replied, tightening her hold on the girl. "You've survived the deaths of your other Masters and Mistresses haven't you?"

"You were different…" Denzelle whispered weakly, "you treated me like I were actually human. They didn't treat me as well as you did."

"But now, just think, when I'm gone you've got your freedom, you don't have to take any orders and you can control your life."

"It'll be…different." Denzelle whispered.

"Different can be good. You said it was a good thing that I was different from everyone else."

Denzelle laughed quietly and pulled away, staring down at her hands in her lap shyly, "And I was right."

"And don't forget…" Tori started, smiling really happily suddenly, "different is fun!"

"That it is." Denzelle smiled.

"Yeah so don't worry too much about it. I'm sure you'll all manage this."

"I hope."

"You will." Tori said confidently, taking Denzelle's hands and pulling her up. She squeezed the bit-beast's hand supportively, "Now…go rest up before you give yourself a panic attack." She told her.

Denzelle smiled, bowed her head to her Mistress and disappeared in her usual white light.

Tori turned to sit down where Denzelle had been, resting her head back and closing her eyes in hope of resting for a few minutes. In the apartment, with everyone, emotions ran amazingly high. Kai's emotions were barely in any order anymore and the fright of Tori about to die wasn't doing him any good. Denzelle feared so much of losing her Mistress that the lash of anger the night before was just a way of dealing with the pain. Tori, well the fact that she was inflicting pain on everyone around her wasn't doing her any good, then there was the fact that she hated that she wouldn't see them any more and then the emotions from the exchange of byes with her parents at the airport were still in her and tears would have started streaming down her face if it weren't for her reminding herself that inside her, there was a battle and she couldn't cry this time.

She felt like she was being watched though and quickly opened her eyes. She smiled, seeing Kai leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, eyes intently fixed on her. On seeing her smile Kai walked up to her, sitting on the arm of the chair she was in. Kai placed a hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. "You're okay?" he asked her.

Tori smiled up at him, "Fine." She replied.

Kai looked down at her with sudden accusing eyes, eyes accusing her of being a liar. She wasn't fine and he knew it, he could see past the smiles.

Those eyes were already too much for Tori to take but she smiled at him anyway, getting up, kissing him quickly and leaving the room and into the kitchen.

Kai followed her to the kitchen, standing up behind her he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. Tori smiled at his hold on her, placing her hands on his and smiling. "You're not the only strong one." She whispered to him.

"I know that." Kai whispered back, trying a smile of his own.

Tori turned to look at Kai, wrapping her arms around his waist, him doing the same to her. Tori pulled herself back to lean against the counter, pulling Kai with her into a loving and searing kiss. The two pulled away after only a second and on the contact the two had a hot redness grew in Kai's cheeks and Tori smiled at it, finding it quite funny how the boy was so love shy, even after so long.

She closed her eyes, if he'd prefer it that she didn't see him than that was fine by her, then again that didn't mean she didn't know how he was feeling. She leaned in, closing the little gap left between them, another loving game of domination starting off between the two but through it all they still knew how much they cared about each other.

**A/N: An extra long chapter for you all, it's a day late but I think it was worth it. Hope you enjoyed it, please leave me a review and tell me what you think. Take care everyone! **


	24. Where'd You Go?

_**Chapter 24**_

Tori lay back on the sofa, she'd parted her legs just slightly as Kai rested his form in between, his head resting on her stomach. Before anyone thought such things, no they hadn't just had sex. Really, it needed to be said, particularly because some people would get the wrong idea. They'd just made out, talked for a while, made out some more and that took a lot out of the two, Kai feeling tired and Tori feeling her head pounding from the tumour that suffocated her mind.

Tori just smiled the whole time, gently running all her fingers through Kai's soft hair. Happiness running through her the whole time as she watched the boy resting peacefully on her. She rested her head back against the pillows that her head heavily rested on for support.

Kai carefully lifted his head off his girlfriend's stomach and looked up at the girl's sweet face. He tried his best to form a small smile and spoke quietly, "Get some rest."

Tori smiled at his words, "Maybe I should…you clearly are making yourself comfortable." She said quietly with a laugh at the end.

Kai placed his hands by Tori's sides for support before pushing himself off of her. "Sorry." He whispered.

Tori smiled more and wrapped her arms around Kai's neck, "Don't be. I don't mind." She whispered, "It feels nice to watch you be so…relaxed." She added.

"I wish it could last." Kai whispered back, returning to his former position as Tori pulled him down into it.

"Maybe it could."

"I doubt it." Kai muttered.

Tori went back to tracing her fingers through the boy's hair, seeing that he found it soothing. "Yeah, well don't because you never know what could happen."

Kai rested up on his elbows by Tori's sides, looking up at her in search for the right words to tell her. "You know…after so many years of pain…you can't really expect me to believe everything in life will be good." He told her softly.

"I don't expect you to do that…" Tori remained smiling, even with something as serious as this, she remained smiling. Smiling was the comforting side of her, as long as she was smiling at someone it made them feel a certain sense of safety which she thought was good for Kai to feel. "I just think that you shouldn't be so quick to think that the world is out to get you."

"But that was the way I was raised."

"You think I don't know that?" Tori asked him. "I know very little about how you grew up but with the little I know, I use it fully and I know you were raised in ways that doesn't count to how things are now and it'll take some time to change but you have to try."

Kai frowned a bit, pushing himself to sit up. "But…you know I'm trying right?" he asked.

Tori sat up to join him and smiled caringly, reaching a gentle hand out to stroke his cheek. "Of course I know."

Kai pulled away from Tori's hand, moving to the end of the sofa before sitting back comfortably. He shuddered against the contact of a cold breeze touching his skin, a breeze he hadn't felt when lying down and being warmed up against Tori. Although, now something quickly ran through his mind and after a moment he glanced around, turning his head to look at Tori before tilting his head slightly. "What were we just talking about?" he asked quickly.

Tori's eyes widened at him and she sat forward, "Kai?"

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Tori sat back again as she had been before and picked up Kai's hand, a light squeeze from her hand onto his. Kai just lay back, staring on ward at the ceiling in some thought, and preferably suppressing the memories. Although, through his best efforts of holding them back, one got through.

_**---Flashback---**_

_Two bodies, of two young, eight year old innocent boys, fell to the solid concrete ground with a sickening thud, both dead, a bleeding stab wound right through their chests. Kai, just as young and innocent as those two boys, looked on, fear, pain and mild anger shining in his crimson orbs as he stared on at the dead forms of the two he'd called his friends for a day. He would have cried, burst into tears in a second if it weren't for the tall, terrifying man with the blooded knife in hand looming over him. "I thought I had made it clear that no one was to be friends with those boys." Boris said angrily as he stared down menacingly at the frightened child. "The only thing…keeping me from doing the same thing I did to them to you…is the fact that your grandfather will never forgive me for it." Kai backed up against the wall, trying so hard to hide his fear but found that that was now impossible. "Although…I'm almost sure he'd make an exception to you getting hurt," _

_Kai shut his eyes tightly as he felt the stinging sensation of the cold steel knife being dragged along his arm for only a second at the speed that Boris had pulled at it. The child bit down tightly on his bottom lip, pulling back a yell of pain as he slowly tasted blood from his lip that had been cut open from the pressure he put on it._

_**---EndFlashback---**_

Kai's head shot up again, breathing heavily, just trying to grasp one clear breath of air. Tori sat up, placing a careful and hesitant hand on Kai's shoulder, maybe he'd realize she was there, which he did. He looked on at her; almost blankly the whole time till Tori cupped his chin and moved closer to him. "Talk." She whispered. She didn't think she had ever caught him when he felt so defenceless. Usually he'd remain as strong as he could after a nightmare and say it was nothing but since she'd been so close when it had happened it only made it easier for her to talk to her, even if he didn't want to.

Kai sat forward, his breathing now clear and rhythmic again as it usually was. His right hand traced along his shoulder, the same one that had been cut through so many times by the male mentor, or more like…tormentor. "Two boys are dead because of me." He whispered weakly.

"What?" Tori asked, she hadn't heard him the first time as he had been too quiet when speaking so she moved closer to him to make it easier for her to hear him.

"Two boys are dead because of me." Kai said it louder this time, turning his head to the side just slightly, on his features only being seen the slight flinches of pain but otherwise, he kept things together as best he could.

"Why is it your fault?" Clearly Tori was confused. Yes, she'd been told about some things that went on in the Abbey, the experiments, the training, the beatings, the deaths but the fact that Kai blamed himself for the death of two boys was something new to her ears.

"I tried to be friends with them." Kai replied.

Tori looked on disbelievingly but moved herself closer to him. "You didn't do anything wrong." She told him quietly.

"For that time and place, I did."

Tori placed a gentle hand on Kai's back, almost completely feeling Kai's heartbeat from there. Her eyes looked on sympathetically, even though they never made contact with Kai's, "Is this what you've been living with? That…it's your fault they died?"

All Kai did was listen to what she said before nodding almost numbly, completely out of the state and probably not paying as much attention anymore.

Tori pulled her arms around Kai, and pulled at him a little so he'd sit back against the back of the sofa. "It's not your fault. You were young, you were a kid…" none of what she said was getting through to Kai, until she added something at least, "you were human."

Despite the bit of shock those words obtained from Kai, he just replied coldly towards her, "It's still not a good reason."

"Maybe not now that you're older but you need to give yourself some credit."

"I don't care…it doesn't change the fact that they're dead and that they can't live their lives the way they wanted to."

"So you think they'd want you to destroy your own life because of them?" Tori asked, very reasonably actually. "Wouldn't they want you to live life well? Like they would have wanted to live their lives."

"What choice do I have? Whether I like it or not I'm always going to remember those events. Not just because of what happened to them but because of what happened to me too."

"But you got through it, didn't you?"

"Yes, once! But because I got through it that one time, it doesn't mean I'm ready to go through it every day."

"I didn't say you have to go through it everyday." Tori smiled. Kai didn't even give her an answer, he was just too busy being lost in his own thoughts that he was just shoved out of the world that was around him. Tori alerted him back to the present by squeezing his hand tightly again, she usually had to do that just to get him to pay attention.

Kai stood up slowly and looked down at her for a second, "I'm going for a walk." He said quietly, then hurriedly turning and leaving the room.

Tori leant against the living room door, from where she could see Kai opening the front door to leave. "You'll come back right?"

Kai looked at her for a second, nodding, "I always do."

Then Tori just watched him leave, crossing her arms she went back to the sofa and lay down again. "His fault? That's stupid." She whispered.

_'Agreed.' _Denzelle whispered in her Mistress' mind.

_'I wish he weren't so…destroyed by what's happened to him. I wish it didn't have to affect him.' _

_'Then he wouldn't be the same person you know at the moment.' _

_'I know that, a lot would change if he hadn't gotten hurt the way he did but I just wish he could finally let it go.' _

_'I know.' _

_'And a real lot has happened within the last few years.' _

**_---Flashback--- _**

_Tori sat cross-armed in the doctor's office at a large table, her parents by her side. "You can't be serious." The doctor said. _

_"I'm dead serious." Tori smirked. Saying that sounded perfect for the time. She'd just been given the news of her brain tumour and was given the option of dieing without the surgery or taking the surgery within the next month and by now…everyone knew what she'd chosen. _

_"Sweetie, re-think this." Maria told her daughter weakly, at the same time tightening her grip on her skirt. _

_"There isn't anything to re-think." _

_"But you're young and if successful, you can live a perfectly normal life again." _

_"And if not successful?" Tori asked, smirking as she asked the question, already knowing the answer. _

_"You could bleed out…" _

_"Which is dieing anyway…no?" _

_"But we caught it an early stage so there's a chance…" The Japanese doctor started. Five years ago, they had been in Iwate, a place in __Japan__, surprisingly the same place that Kai's father had died in a car crash. _

_Tori stood up, hands tightening on the table. Her usual bright auburn hair fell over her shoulders, her thin pale arms barely supporting her when she stood but she remained firmly there and didn't weaken. "Let me tell you this in a language you'll understand…" She started. "Watashi…shuno." _

**_---EndFlashback--- _**

_'And from the second I said those two words my parents knew how serious I was.' _

_'It wasn't easy for them to deal with, not then and not now.' _

_'I know but the whole time I had things I had to deal with too so I didn't really care.' _

_'I think back then everyone knew that.' _Denzelle smiled.

Tori laughed, mostly because she knew that the bit-beast was right about it. _'Yeah, I think they did.' _

_'You're tired, Mistress?' _

_'As the time gets closer tiredness drags at me more everyday.' _

_'I see that. I'll leave you to get your rest.' _

Tori closed her eyes, smiling and nodding in thanks towards the bit-beast. She opened her eyes, took one last glance at the clock that showed it was seven thirty and then she closed her eyes and gave in to the darkness.

The whole sleep was refreshing and peaceful, no pain being released through her head for the first sleep she'd had in ages. At the same time, her loving bit-beast watched over her, as Tori did to her many times before. She pulled the blankets tighter around herself, since despite the heat outside, the air conditioner was starting to make her feel too cold and she was still far too tired to be bothered to get up to switch it off.

A few more hours of sleep went on but when Tori finally caught sight of the clock again she instantly sat up again, her mind swirling with dizziness and tiredness. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes, looking on at the clock, 10:45pm. "Kai?" Tori called out into the house from where she sat on the sofa, not hearing any reply from the boy in question. The girl sighed heavily and got off the sofa, wavering slightly at first before pulling together the strength to walk in a straight line to the kitchen. She poured out some water in a glass, turning to put the bottle back in the fridge, she saw a paper stuck to the fridge with a magnet.

The writing was clearly Kai's, that much she knew. _'Got home, saw you asleep, decided to go see the others at the Dojo. Don't wait up.' _

Tori smiled slightly, clearly Kai knew her too well. He'd known where to put the message and he'd known that she actually would wait up for him. She walked out of the room, still smiling happily at every thought that went through her mind, each memory a large part of the story of her life. She jumped onto her bed, lying back comfortably on the soft mattress. Turning onto her side she raised an eyebrow when she saw a box and something else on her dressing table.

She stood up quickly and ran over to the objects on the surface. One thing she saw was a neatly closed envelope, _'Tori' _written on the front. The auburn-haired girl slowly picked up the letter, opening it hesitantly yet curiously as she sat down on the bed, then began to slowly read the neat words on the delicate page she held in her hand.

_'Dear Tori, _

_We all know that your time is almost up soon so we decided to put something together, although Kai isn't around to be a part of it as always. Well I guess we all just wanted to tell you that it's been great having you around for the past few months. Did you know we've known you for about half a year? It seems like we've known each other forever but time went by so fast. We all know its been great knowing you, you were a pretty strict coach for a while, and you did give us our fair share of scares every now and then. _

_We had to admit, that first time we heard we were getting a trainer we didn't really like the idea but then we got to know you and things got better. Then we found out how much you were trying to help Kai and that increased things. True, we argued a lot when it came to some things like our breaks and about who thought what was best for Kai but we got over things and we managed and I guess we all think that our friendship went through a lot. Well the point of this letter was just to thank you for all you've done for us since we've met you, so really, from the whole team, thanks for your help and support and I'm sure if Kai were here, he'd say the same thing, we know him that much. _

_Your friends, always, _

_Tyson, Max & Ray. _

Tears streamed heavily down from Tori's crystal brown eyes, the tears slipping faster as she found a picture of her and the team attached to the letter. She wiped at the dampness on her cheeks with the back of her fingers, placing the letter and picture beside her on the bed. She took a deep breath, pulling back her tears as she fought to smile, standing up and walking over to the last thing that was left on her table.

She carefully picked up the box, staring down at it as she walked backwards and sat down on the bed again. Carefully she opened the box, looking on with widened eyes as she saw what was in there. She placed her hands into the box, slowly picking up a white music box, the same music box that Kai had seen her looking at in the store when they were shopping for Max. Sobs caught quickly in Tori's throat, tears streaming even faster than before as she opened the elegant music box.

As the music played Tori noticed the slip of paper that was found inside the box. She picked it up, trying to blink the tears out of her eyes to be able to see the few words that were written on the page. _'Thought you might like this as a thank you for what you've done to help me.' _

_'I can't believe…he actually remembered.' _Tori thought, smiling just slightly through her tears. She left the music from the box keep playing when her eyes drifted off to look outside and didn't shift the gaze for about five minutes.

**---Three Hours Later- With The Others--- **

"Are you sure you're okay Kai?" Tyson asked, glancing at his captain again. The whole team was grouped in Kai's room at the Dojo and an hour before he'd said that something was wrong and he looked like he'd break down at any moment. Since then the whole team was worried about him and total him to relax since they decided it wasn't safe for him to walk back to Tori's apartment.

"Yeah, fine."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Ray asked him.

"Kai…" Max tried to snap Kai out of his thoughts, realizing he'd succeeded when Kai's head shot in his direction.

"I have a feeling something bad has happened." Kai whispered, the team hearing him though.

"I get that." Max whispered to himself.

A banging sound was heard from downstairs and all turned their attention to the door, then glancing at each other to see who was going to see what was downstairs. Kai, being the oldest, and most mature, just got off the bed without a problem, walking to the door and opening it. What landed against him amazed him, and at first, frightened him when he hadn't see what it was.

Denzelle was sobbing in his arms, her own arms wrapped around his neck as she cried into the side of his neck. "What happened?" Kai asked hurriedly, gripping the girl's slender shoulders and moving her off him slightly so he could look at her.

"She disappeared." Denzelle cried out.

"What do you mean?" Max asked, the others and him rushing up beside Kai to look at Denzelle.

"She…she said I should go take a break…from looking after her and she ordered me to go for a walk to cool off and when I got back she was gone and I can't get back to my blade!"

"Wait…what do you mean you can't get back to your blade."

"I don't know, it's like it doesn't exist!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kai asked angrily, not even taking in the fact that he'd increased a large amount of pressure on the fragile bit-beast's shoulders.

Ray moved Kai's hands off Denzelle and lured the girl over to the bed, setting her down gently, keeping his arms around her as he sat down beside her.

Kai turned to Denzelle, calming down, kneeling down on the ground in front of her. "Answer me, is she dead?" he asked her, trying to hold his voice down to its usual calm manner.

"I don't know." Denzelle told him angrily, frustrated that Kai thought, or at least acted as though he were the only one hurting over it.

"Where could she have gone?" Tyson asked quietly, pushing Kai away from the distressed girl.

"I checked everywhere that I thought she would be."

Kai turned away from the group, pulled out his phone and dialled Tori's number in a hurry. Denzelle bit her lip once she noticed this, pain surging through her as she stepped towards Kai and from behind him, held something between her two fingers and placed it in front of him.

Kai's jaw dropped just slightly and picked up the small object from between her fingers. The small cold piece of plastic and metal was clearly the card of Tori's phone. "Wherever she's gone to…she really doesn't want to be found." Kai thought aloud.

**---An Hour Later--- **

Ray walked downstairs into the kitchen, leaning back against the table, not taking his strict eyes off his captain who had been sitting on the kitchen counter, a bottle of alcohol in hand as he stared on at the ground. "I put Denzelle in my room for the night, and Tyson and Max are sharing a room so I'll take Tyson's. You should go get some rest too."

"I knew something had happened."

"Don't blame yourself."

**_---Flashback---_**

_Kai sat with the others outside the Dojo, all of them where talking and he was just listening to all they had to say to each other. It amazed him really, because they spoke to each other so much it was as though they hadn't spoken to each other in years. But that was when he'd felt it, his heart skip beats, feeling his heart stop completely for at least twenty seconds and something in his mind kept racing. _

_---In his mind/vision--- _

_Tori smiled as she was on her way out the apartment door and Kai stood far across from her, he couldn't even see himself though, as if he were just watching her. She looked happy, smiling at him as she waved with her left hand and her right one was about to pull the door closed behind her when she spoke, happily as always. "Ja, Kai. Itekimasu!" she called out. _

_---End Vision--- _

_By the end of that, vision, or day dream or whatever you wanted to call it, everyone around him had noticed his change in breathing and all eyes where on him. _

_---EndFlashback--- _

"I just need to know what she said to me." Kai muttered to himself.

Ray sighed, walking over to Kai and grabbing the bottle from his hand but Kai just tightened his grip around it and wouldn't budge, even though he hadn't drank much from it. "What would Tori say if she knew you were drinking like this?" Ray asked him, in hopes of breaking him down.

"If she were here, I wouldn't be drinking." Kai reminded him stubbornly.

"That's not the point."

"It bloody well is the point, Ray!"

"You two got really attached didn't you?"

"NO! I've just been staying at her place these past few months because I enjoyed yelling at her every morning." Kai yelled at him, sarcastically.

Ray sighed and sat down at table, "Alright, I get it, calm down." He told him. "What do you think happened?"

"I have no clue, I've run out of ideas." Kai replied, taking another sip of vodka from the bottle, wincing slightly as the liquid ran through his body painfully. "Maybe she just got scared and ran away." He tried.

"It doesn't sound like something she'd do though."

"Taking her own life doesn't sound like something she'd do either."

"What?" Ray asked confusedly.

"She had the option of taking surgery to save herself but the chances surgery worked was slim but she still lied to you guys when she said that there was no way she could be saved."

"And you knew the truth?" Ray raised an eyebrow at the older captain.

"Yeah, she told me the same day she told you that she was dieing."

"I don't think that would be considered taking her own life though…would it?"

"She's avoiding the one thing that could save her life and she's dieing a painful death, to me, that's taking her own life."

"She's avoiding the one thing that could save her life and she's dieing a painful death, to me, that's taking her own life."

"I'm sure she didn't mean for it to be like that. She probably made the decision a long time ago."

"Five years ago, she had plenty of time to take that surgery, even more time to change her mind."

"I'm sure she has a reason for what's she's doing."

The two teenagers then heard and caught a glimpse of a thin figure running past the kitchen door and both ran after it outside. "Hey!" Kai called out to the dark figure.

Denzelle spun around, standing straight before the two boys. "I'm going to find her." She said coldly.

"You can't go out this late." Ray told her, "She doesn't want to be found, not for now at least."

"Itekimasu." Denzelle turned away and was just about to leave the gates in a quick run.

"Wait! What did you just say?" Kai asked, once recognizing he'd heard the word before, recently, too recently.

Denzelle heard something in Kai's voice, hope? Something that made her stop dead in her tracks, "It means 'I'll go and come back.'" She replied hesitantly.

Kai stopped for a moment, taking a breath as he stared at the ground, a small smirk on his face before looking up at the others, "Tori's coming back, soon."

"How do you know?" Denzelle asked, stepping closer to Kai.

"Come on, tell us Kai."

"Its like she had told me…before when we were out here."

Ray looked on at Kai, confusion written all over his face as he stepped closer. "You're serious…aren't you?" he asked, disbelievingly.

Kai nodded and looked up at Denzelle, his eyes reading something Denzelle couldn't quite understand, nothing he did or said, or showed in his eyes could be read accurately, he was a complex person and being there, standing in front of him, with the person she's known all her life, gone, she could see that no matter how complex Kai was, he was almost always right about things and now, she saw how her Mistress could have fallen so hard for such a person. "Go back inside, get some rest. If we don't hear from Tori by tomorrow morning than we'll go look for her but staying out here isn't going to bring her back."

Denzelle stood there looking on at him before hesitantly nodding and walking past the two males and back into the Dojo.

**A/N: Sooooo….what did you think of that chapter? I know that last chapter had a ton of mistakes and the site ended up screwing up a paragraph I had edited, the one that was repeated. Forgive me for all my spelling and grammatical mistakes in that chapter but I was under a lot of stress and I suppose you could see that through the chapter. I'm sorry that maybe this chapter wasn't to your expectations but I had less days to work. **

**Please review people and I'll try to work on another chapter soon. **


	25. Reflections

_**Chapter 25**_

Kai and Ray walked back into the kitchen and resumed their positions they'd had before they'd seen the figure run past the door. Kai picked up the glass bottle that he'd left there before he'd left the room earlier and now he just continued staring at the ground. Ray stared on at Kai from where he sat at table again, in deep thought the whole time and trying to find the right words to say to get the right information out of his captain. "It takes someone really close to Tori…to know that much about what might happen next." He told Kai. It wasn't random curiosity that he wanted to know about Kai and Tori; it was just that he wanted to know how things where actually going with the two so that he'd know more about what was going on with his captain, the captain that made him worry all the time.

"We're friends." Kai stated simply, his gaze not moving from being fixed in a straight glance at the ground.

"No, Denzelle and Tori are friends. You and Tori are something more."

"And you've summed all this up, from what?"

"Instinct, I suppose." Ray tried.

"You're instinct is wrong." Kai said angrily. Although, deep down inside he was secretly cursing that someone else had found out about the on going secret relationship he had with the teenager trainer.

Ray smirked just slightly, raising an eyebrow at the other teenager in the room, "Is it really?" he asked.

"Yes." Kai answered coldly.

"No." Ray answered for him, a small smirk on his face.

"How would you know?" Kai asked bitterly.

"You and Tori must really think we're stupid, or else you were just over-confident when you thought you two were good enough to hide if from us."

"So even Tyson knows?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow at the neko-jin at the other end of the room.

Ray winced just slightly and shook his head quickly, "He's having trouble keeping up." He replied, a bright smile on his face when he saw Kai smile just slightly at his answer. "So how close are you two?" he asked.

"How close is sharing a bed?" Kai asked him.

Ray's eyes widened immensely at Kai's question that was seen as an answer, "Very close."

"I guess it is." Kai commented. He sighed and took a sip of alcohol, wincing at the strong taste. "She didn't even say bye." He whispered to himself, Ray hearing him clearly though.

"Maybe she had a reason."

"There's no valid reason for just leaving someone like that."

"But maybe to her there is a reason."

Kai just groaned quietly and turned away from looking at Ray, muttering a quiet "Whatever." Under his breath.

"So how long?" Ray asked, changing the subject slightly.

"How long what?" Kai asked, turning his eyes back at the other boy.

"Have you two been…well, together?"

"I never really kept track actually. About four months I guess."

"That long?"

"Surprised we kept it a secret for so long?" Kai smirked.

"No. I'm just surprised it didn't take her long to get to you."

Kai shook his head just slightly, staring off at the ground again. "I fought her off for the first few months, trying to keep her from worrying and keeping her away from me so the more I fought her off at first, the quicker I stopped."

"That makes sense."

"Today…along with that letter you guys gave her…I left her a present. We'd seen it when we went shopping together to get something for Max and she seemed to have liked it." Kai's words grabbed Ray's attention quickly and neko-jin kept his eye's firm gaze on his captain as he listened to what he was saying. "I don't usually go shopping. Food I'd go to buy but I don't buy gifts and stuff like that."

"How's that a bad thing?" Ray asked. A lot of things about the teenager before him confused him regularly and he couldn't help the confusion and curiosity in his voice.

"I never said it was a bad thing…just different to what I'm used to. And now I think that maybe it's what made her leave."

"What did you give her?"

"A music box, she liked the tune it played."

Ray smiled slightly at Kai, finding Kai's caring side and consideration quite nice to finally see, "That's sweet." Kai didn't say anything else and Ray waited another minute in case Kai wanted to talk about something. He just watched on as Kai took another sip of vodka which indicated that Kai wasn't in a talking mood anymore. Ray stood up, slowly walking up to Kai, "Come on." He whispered, taking the glass bottle from Kai's slightly shaking hand. "You've had a rough day, you need rest." He told him in the same level.

"I can't." Kai whispered, although not fighting Ray off when he pulled him by his hand off the counter.

"Of course you can, right now you just choose not to."

Kai walked out into the hall, staring up at the stairs before he sighed, taking a deep breath and walking up to his bedroom, Ray following close behind. Ray checked in on Denzelle, seeing the girl fast asleep peacefully before he decided to go to Tyson's room where he could spend the night to get some rest of his own.

**---Next Morning- With Tori--- **

Tori lay on her side on a white hospital bed, tear streaks painted on her pale cheeks as she kept her hands under he cheek that was on the pillow. Her head was bandaged up tightly and the splitting pain that came from it was almost too much to bare any longer but she was afraid to say so or scream out in pain because then she was afraid that more painkillers would be pumped into her and she didn't want that, her time of being like a lab rat was over.

Mr Dickinson, her guardian at the time just appeared in the doorway to her room, tears glistening in his eyes as he saw the young girl lying there, fragile and in pain. Tori caught the sight of the older man out of the corner of her eye and she turned her head to him, remaining on her side, no emotion being shown on her face. "Come to watch me whither away?" she asked him.

"Don't be silly, you're going to be fine, the doctors said so." Mr Dickinson told her, trying to force a small smile on his face as he walked up to the girl's side.

"I suppose they did. How are the others?" Tori stammered, she choked on her own tears again since they refused to stop every time she thought about the lot of them.

"I haven't spoken to them yet. I had to come to see you first." Mr Dickinson answered her. He placed a hand out and grabbed the thin hand that was lying so lifeless that the end of her fingers had almost turned blue from the cold and numbness. He squeezed it carefully, "Can I get you anything?" he asked her.

"You can go to the team…now." Tori whispered in reply.

"Tori don't keep this cold front. It doesn't suit you. If you're hurt than just say so or else you'll end up like Kai."

"You mean like how he used to be." Tori corrected quietly.

"Yes."

"You know what you have to say to them…so just go, you aren't needed here for the moment."

Needless to say, Mr Dickinson was disappointed at hearing those words from the girl, after all, all he was doing was looking after her and comforting her. He nodded anyway, doing as the girl asked as he intended on leaving. He leaned over her, giving her a careful kiss on the forehead, giving her hand a light squeeze before leaving the room in utter silence.

**---With The Others--- **

The whole team had woken up early, mostly out of nerves, otherwise they would have just stayed in bed where they were away from the pain of the world. They all sat outside, talking to each other occasionally while they all kept a close eye out for Tori, all of them hoping to see her thin form walk in through the Dojo's gates. That didn't happen though, although some hope ran through them all when they saw Mr Dickinson there instead.

All the teenagers that had been on the porch ran towards the older man, worry and hope shining through all their eyes at the same time. "Mr Dickinson! Have you heard from Tori?"

"Yeah, she's been missing since last night." Denzelle told him.

Mr Dickinson closed his eyes for a second and sighed, "Sit down, boys."

The whole team was taken aback by his words while tears sprung to Denzelle eyes as she turned, walked back and sat down on the porch, wiping the dampness from her cheeks. The others all sat down beside her, Ray closest to her, pulling an arm around her for support since Kai was clearly too concerned about the Mistress than the girl that was crying. "What do you know?" Kai asked, sounding almost angry in a way.

"Tori's in the hospital."

"What?"

"Is she okay?"

Mr Dickinson nodded, "She's doing fine, she took the surgery to remove the tumour late last night. She'd changed her mind and doctors saw that it was urgent so they did it as soon as they could."

"She's alive and well then right?!" Kai asked hurriedly, still taking in the fact of what had just been said to him.

"She survived it…by a thread though." Mr Dickinson said hesitantly, turning his worried eyes away from Kai, knowing full well that the eldest teenager there would demand more and would recognize the older man's fear in what was going on.

"What do you mean by that?"

"And I thought Tori said there wasn't anything she could do to save herself."

"She wanted to protect us," Ray said suddenly before turning to Kai, "right Kai?"

Kai had his arms crossed when he turned to Ray and nodded in reply.

"So you knew?" Max asked hurriedly, eyes wide open.

Kai nodded again, being unable to say anything else to them.

"That's why you were so mad at her." Tyson reasoned out aloud, turning back to Mr Dickinson quickly after it sunk in. "What do you mean 'she survived by a thread' ?" he asked.

"Her heart stopped half way through the surgery. Originally she said that she wanted the surgery, on the condition that the music box she had was playing the whole time through, the doctors agreed to it for her sake but half way through they closed it and minutes later her heart stopped so they started it again and she was fine after but it was a close call."

"And she's going to be fine right?" Denzelle asked, muttering something for the first time.

"Physically and mentally yes, emotionally is the problem. She was told that her personality might change a bit after this and she's afraid of that…she doesn't want to change who she is."

"We better go see how she is." Max said quietly to the others around him.

"That's probably the worst part of this." Mr Dickinson said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked urgently, seeming cold and angry as always, not caring who it was that he was talking to.

"She doesn't want you guys to go see her while she's in the hospital." Mr Dickinson told them, earning himself shocked stares from all around.

"Why not?!" Tyson asked.

Kai interrupted, turning to Mr Dickinson and only him. "If it's about me not being comfortable in hospitals than she can just drop it, I don't mind and I can handle it."

Mr Dickinson sighed and placed a hand on Kai's shoulder, feeling the boy tense beneath his hand. "I don't think it's about that, Kai." He told him…carefully, probably knowing how hard it was for Kai to hear. "I think this time it's something Tori wants for herself."

"Who wants to be all alone in a hospital?" Ray asked almost confusedly.

"Tori does, so I guess we just have to leave her." Kai said, although to Ray, he could clearly tell that Kai was just putting on a brave front for everyone else. Kai was always like that, he could say he hated people but he would rather cover up his own feelings to help them and probably never deal with his own emotions.

"And what about me? I need to get back to my blade eventually." Denzelle told him urgently, standing up and running up to him, bowing her head slightly but raising her eyes at the older man.

"Calm down." Mr Dickinson took her hand gently, "She's got your blade. I'll take you to the hospital to see her soon enough."

"So she is just going to stay by herself till she leaves hospital?" Max asked sadly.

"It appears so. Although she said that once she's well enough to write she'll send you all a letter or an email."

"That's something at least." Tyson muttered.

"Kai are you alright to handle training again until she's back?" Mr Dickinson asked the oldest.

Kai nodded quickly, looking tough as always, as though nothing changed to him.

"I'll make sure you and Tori stay in contact, don't worry." Mr Dickinson told them before turning to Denzelle, "We can go." He told her. "Bye boys."

Mr Dickinson turned to leave, Denzelle following close behind him before a hand fell on her shoulder and she turned round to see the owner of the strong hand. Kai stood behind her, expressionless face there as always ut then he handed something out to her and she looked down at it. The phone card she'd given him was there in his hand, "Take it…so we can talk to her sometime." He whispered.

Denzelle smiled warmly at Kai, took the small material, clutched it in her hand and then gave Kai a tight hug, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Kai." She whispered softly.

"I did nothing thanks-worthy, I treated you like dirt instead of helping you for all the times you helped me." Kai whispered back to her, pushing her away carefully.

Denzelle shook her head quickly, her bangs flying in front of her face. "No. If it weren't for you, I would have gone out searching for my Mistress last night and I could have gotten hurt but you stopped me so thank you."

"Just go and take care of her for me." Kai told her, trying a small smile on his face.

"Will do, Kai." Denzelle said happily before running off after Mr Dickinson.

Kai walked into the Dojo by himself, walking the stairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind him for some privacy away from everyone else, as far away from them as he could possibly get without leaving them out of someone's care, something he never really worried about. He lay back on his bed, in hopes to relax. It wasn't even mid-week yet and he was already getting stressed out.

Ray slowly opened the creaking door, stepping inside and closing the door quietly behind him before creeping over to Kai on the bed. He sat down beside Kai on the bed, looking down at his sleep-deprived and stressed out captain.

Kai opened his eyes and looked up at the team mate beside him but just ignored him and closed his eyes again, trying his best to block out the boy.

"That box Mr Dickinson told us about…it's the one you gave Tori, isn't it?" Ray asked quietly.

"She never had any others."

Ray nodded, taking in the answer, eyes on the ground at first. He slowly turned his eyes to look at Kai again, biting down on his lip for only a second before speaking again, always careful, something he'd been told to do from Max and Tori over the past few months. "You know…it's alright to show us that you're worried. We all are."

"Leave." Kai ordered coldly.

To Ray it seemed like not much about Kai had changed, he just remained his usual locked up self. Only now, the one person that made him feel a bit more human was far away from him, she could be further away but it didn't make things that much easier on Kai. The whole team weren't always forcing him to talk to them for their sakes but more for Kai's. They were happy as long as they knew that Kai was feeling better but knowing that they boy was miserable and they couldn't help him because he wouldn't let them made them feel terrible. "Come downstairs, you need to have breakfast." He pointed out to him.

"Later."

Some anger began to glow in Ray's golden eyes, "Don't be selfish, Kai. Think about Tori, she wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself and if she found out about this it would only make things worse for her so stop this, get downstairs and get something to eat."

"I'm not being selfish." Kai told him angrily. "You don't know how this feels and you won't so just let me sort this out by myself."

"How do you expect us to do that?" Ray asked angrily.

"You did it for about four years, you figure it out!"

"We could never just forget about you, Kai. Even if it looked like we did."

Kai turned onto his side, his back facing Ray which frustrated the tiger more. "Just leave me alone." He called to the boy behind him.

Ray got up and walked over to the door, placing his hand on the doorknob, about to turn it before turning back to look at Kai, or more like his back. "Sometimes I don't know what you want from us, Kai." He told him clearly, waiting for an answer, he got none and left the room quietly.

**---With Tori--- **

Tori lay on her side, sleeping soundly and painlessly. The doctors had seen her pain clearly after Mr Dickinson had left and added a bit more morphine to ease the pain she was feeling in her skull. Nurses where passing by Tori's room every five minutes to check on her, all of them being uneasy and on edge about the girl and the state she was currently in.

Denzelle was, at present, in her blade that was on her Mistress' bedside table near an empty tray of food and some wires that had been disconnected just before Tori had fallen asleep. Denzelle had been keeping an eye on her Mistress ever since she'd got there and wouldn't allow herself any rest as long as her Mistress was resting, in case something happened, that way she'd be the first to know. Although, now the bit-beast was growing tired. She'd been outside her blade since the afternoon of the day before and being deprived of her blade's power and safety for so long was tearing her down, and finally she was starting to feel the affects of it.

_'Denzelle, get some rest, I'll be alright.' _

_'I'm not leaving you alone.' _

_'The nurses are looking out for me so don't worry, I wont be alone.' _

_'That's not the same. Why won't you let the team here?' _

_'Because this is something I want to do alone.' _

_'That makes no sense! It's unreasonable! You sound like Kai.' _

_'Don't be silly, it's not the same thing.' _

Denzelle sighed, refusing to argue with her Mistress any longer as long as the two were both in their worst of states. _'It's your decision Mistress. I just hope you know what you're doing.' _

_'I do. Now get some rest.' _

_'Yes, Mistress.' _Denzelle sighed harshly once again and disappeared from her Mistress' mind in order to find her usual comfort and regain her strength.

Tori opened her clear brown eyes, turning onto her back to look at the ceiling. Peacefully, she stared on at one particular point on the ceiling, being too much in deep thought that she didn't realize she'd been staring at the same place for so long. She wandered back to what Mr Dickinson had told her about the reaction of her team mates to the news. She didn't need to be told that they were unhappy about the news she'd made him give them. Kai most of all. He was probably trying to make a mental list of reasons why she'd want to be alone in a time like this but he was probably not getting very far either.

She just hated to imagine that he was there, turning back to everything she'd tried so hard to pull him away from. All the torment that used to be inside him, the little bit she'd gotten rid of was slowly building in him again. The irritation of being able to do nothing to help her, slowly turned into the self-loath that he'd been so used to ever since he was younger.

Life was a vicious cycle, a cycle that couldn't be broken, not easily at least. Kai was going through some of the worst things life had to offer, that much Tori knew. She didn't know what all those things where but for them to have such a strong controlling affect on him they must have all been bad and she clearly couldn't have chosen a worst time to take that surgery and trigger Kai's emotions anymore. She mentally nodded to herself, she just figured there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment so she thought she'd just deal with it as it came but she knew it wasn't going to be easy. Although, nothing the couple went through together or by themselves was easy to deal with.

**---With Kai--- **

The Russian captain ran up the stairs to the apartment he shared with Tori, unlocking the door and stepping inside quietly. Everything in the apartment was just the way he'd left it before he had gone to the Dojo the day before. The only difference this time was that the bubbly girl he cared about so much wasn't there anymore, she was in a hospital room, on a dull white bed, bored and alone now.

Kai walked into Tori's bedroom and lay down on his side of the bed, resting his head back against the pillows before finding that he was more comfortable with his hands under his head for support as he looked around the room exhaustedly. He'd told the team that he was going to the apartment to get some things so that he could stay at the Dojo while Tori was away and it was true, he was there because he was getting his things but he wanted to go over some things in his mind in the meantime.

He just wanted to go over some memories he had of her. He didn't know why exactly but he supposed it was just one of those times where you wanted to look back on some things in life, like your friendships, your wins, your loses, everything that made you turn out the way you were for the better or the worst. Right now though he just wanted to concentrate on the girl, maybe some memories of her would make him feel better and not worse.

Sometimes he just couldn't help but worry. It just became natural to him, not when with Tori but even before that. You could tell he was always protective of his team mates, despite how long he could go on about hating them and their attiude towards training. He admitted to himself that they were different to him, they had their own opinions of things because their lifestyles where completely different to his and to how he grew up.

Their lifestyles where laid back and easy, maybe they did have some hard times in their childhood but at least they had time to be the kids they were meant to be at the time. Kai's life was completely different, his childhood had been cold and harsh, one filled with pain and difficulties everyday and if he were totally honest with himself he could say that he was one of those rare kids that grew up too fast for his own good. But what other choice did he have, he was young and scared of his mentor and all the adults around him so what other choice did he have than to live the way he was told to. It wasn't his fault, it never was but to him that was the _only_ thing that wasn't his fault, everything else that went on was thought to be his fault and his alone.

After months of talks about that Tori had managed to convince him that it wasn't all his fault. Nothing that had happened to him was the consequence of being who he was, he had never done anything wrong, he was just a kid but people had treated him as more than that. It wasn't easy…living a life where you were always trying to be the best for someone else. If it were truly up to him, he wouldn't have done any of that. He hadn't cared about power and strength, it was just that he was raised to love it and seek it but it wasn't his fault for that, after all, he _was_ forced into it.

The good thing that Tori did was bring some humour to all their conversations, even some of the most serious ones they had, even back when they hated each other. Even when she smiled at him in the morning while the others where having breakfast, she did it even though she knew that Kai wouldn't take any notice of her. Somehow she brought some good out of every conversation they had. On the other hand there where also many of those conversations that ended quite badly but Tori risked it, and she wasn't really afraid to which took a lot of guts.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_"So why do you think we fight all the time?" Tori asked. _

_"That's easy. It's because you interfere with my life." Kai answered simply, sitting back. _

_"I don't interfere, I just worry." Tori corrected, pouting slightly. _

_"You shouldn't." _

_"And why not?" _

_"Because everything is fine and I don't see what there is to worry about." _

_"Then why weren't you eating?" Tori asked, still not believing him. _

_Kai shrugged, "I just get full easily and the others don't know when or if I eat cause they wont be around." He answered. _

_"But why?" _

_"Cause I hate them trying to control how much I eat." _

_"Fair enough I guess." Tori said, a bit unsurely. "Did you ever check with a doctor about not being able to eat?" she asked. _

_"I don't need one." _

_"Well that's really up to you but if things get worse maybe you should consider going to one." Tori suggested caringly. _

_"I will, don't worry." Kai said with a light smirk. _

_"Ah but now you see, I know you're lying there." Tori pointed out, smiling. _

_"Was I that obvious?" _

_"Not really." Tori answered, 'I just did a little research.' She added in her mind. _

_"Well it doesn't matter. I don't need a doctor to tell me anything. They'll just tell me stuff I already know." _

_"That you're weird, insecure, annoying and cold?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at him. _

_"So much for trying to get along." Kai muttered, pushing himself off the ground and starting to walk out of the room. _

_Tori shot up and grabbed his hand to keep him from walking away, "Hey, I was only joking and besides, if it were the truth, I wouldn't dare tell you to your face." She lied, making things up as she went along. _

_"Now that's where you're lying because you would dare to tell me to my face and it is the truth." Kai told her, pulling away from her. _

_"Maybe it is, then again I don't know you too well." Tori said, leaning back against the wall. _

_"And you probably never will." Kai whispered, walking past her. _

_"People want to know a little more about you, just talk to them and let them know." _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

Even when she was nicest to him, he just ignored her and it wasn't because he had a personal grudge against her, it was just because it all came naturally to him. You know, after years of practice at something, sometimes you don't realize how good you've gotten at it until you realize that you've been doing it naturally without any of those intentions. Even despite all that, there where times that Tori did things that naturally ticked him off and things that came far too naturally for any person for him to control and he couldn't help but be even a little bit frustrated at the auburn-haired girl.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_Hearing a quiet groan she looked past the beyblade and towards its owner, smiling when Kai looked up at her. He didn't say a word but tried to sit up, wincing slightly he gave up and lay back down. "What do you want?" he asked her, his voice raspy and if it weren't for her sitting so close she wouldn't have been able to hear him. _

_"Just to check on you. How are you feeling?" Tori asked, brushing a strand of hair away from his eyes. _

_"Fine." Kai answered simply. _

_"Oh a friend told me that there's some weird code to that but I'll save it for when you're in a good mood." _

_"How long have I been out?" Kai asked, wincing at the throbbing pain in his skull. _

_"A little more than an hour." Tori replied. Kai looked down at himself, seeing his gloves, shirt and jacket were off. Tori noticed the look and was quick to tell him, "We thought you were bleeding, so I told Ray to check." She explained. _

_"Where do you get off thinking you have the right to give him such an order?" Kai asked angrily. _

_"He was the only one in here, its not like I was looking or anything and I'd much rather have you feel uncomfortable for a few minutes than have you bleed out on Tyson's clean floors." Tori said, her tone serious despite the slight humour at the end. _

_"Well did you find anything?" Kai asked, it being a bit more of a rhetorical question. _

_"No." Tori answered. _

_"My point exactly." Kai said, trying to sit up again. _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

Then there where those 'lovely' times that she surprised him by doing things he never expected from her, and of course, in his mind, he used the term 'lovely' very very _very_ lightly since after she surprised him there where almost always some unpleasant affects or emotions.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_"You aren't going to tell us what happened are you?" She asked him, moving off the chair to sit on his bed. _

_Kai didn't answer, just turned his head away from her and opened his eyes to stare out the window. _

_Tori smiled caringly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "It's alright." She told him. _

_Kai's eyes widened slightly, her words surprising him to the point that his head shot to look at her. Though it wasn't a smart move, his head began to hurt even more and he began to rub his temples, silently hoping the pain would stop. He heard Tori's faint voice say that she was going to go get him something for that, he felt the light weight on his bed move and heard his bedroom door quietly close behind Tori. _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

Those where good times though, he thought that the pain that he endured those times was worth it because it just brought the two teenagers closer together and neither of them had regretted being together. He smiled slightly. She'd sometimes sneaked him out of the Dojo when he wasn't feeling too well and the others had kept him in his room.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_He arrived down by the beach and from where he stood he could see Tori's thin silhouette by the water, dipping her feet into the cold water as she stared out where the moon reflected on the clear waters. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, making her turn around in fright. Once seeing who it was she visibly calmed down and smiled sweetly, "Hey there!" she said happily. "How are you?" she asked when she didn't get a greeting. _

_"I'm fine. Why'd you call me here?" Kai asked, getting straight down to business apparently. _

_"Friendly gesture. I thought that maybe you'd want to get out of there for a while but I'm not really trusting you to go out by yourself." _

_"Really? What could I possibly do that's so bad?" Kai asked her, folding his arms across his chest. _

_"I wouldn't know, that's why I don't trust you." Tori said with a grin. "So anything you want to do?" she asked him. _

_Kai shrugged, walking ahead of her along the beach with nothing really to say to her. _

_"Let's just go for a drink then, that good?" Tori asked him, watching as Kai nodded in reply. _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

There where so many memories to choose from, when they were together it was like life was a whole story book and every day there was something new to look back on, some good and some bad. Alright so there where a lot of bad times to choose from, too many actually but that was a part of the relationship the two had together, they were constantly arguing with each other but that was how their relationship worked for them.

The team stayed out of arguments with Kai so they never got close enough to him, even if they were to risk an argument, half the time they just wouldn't and move on. But Tori took a lot of risks and was very straightforward with Kai, that's how the two got so close. Kai knew the team much longer than he knew Tori but for most of that time they were like outsiders to him but Tori, she became a part of his life because she was always up in his face about things. So basically the arguments where the most confrontation Kai got from anyone else there.

The two always had some fun times though, even just the little random conversations they had together about little topics.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_Kai stepped into the living room, raising an eyebrow, a little confused on seeing Tori lying on the sofa with his CDs scattered on the table. Tori noticed him in a second and smiled sheepishly at him, "Hey." She greeted. "I hope you don't mind…I saw your CDs here and couldn't help it…I wanted to see what you like I guess." _

_"It's not a problem." Kai shrugged, turning to leave the room. _

_"You have some really good stuff here," Tori flipped through the CD boxes before pilling them all up neatly. "Not my usual type of music but most of it sounds really good." _

_Kai turned and sat down beside her, "I never expected you to like any of it." _

_"Yeah well there's a lot of excellent music, you have great taste." _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

There really wasn't much more to say. The relationship they had together wasn't built on anything special and the relationship was far from perfect but they couldn't deny that they made each other happy. They at least gave each other something they couldn't find in other people, they got the care that they couldn't get from the others, they got the attention that they both needed and they both got the understanding they needed to keep holding on. But no one had said anything about their relationship being perfect, especially since the whole thing was built over their arguments and since the arguments is what got them together in the first place, and the thing that also helped them remain together because when they argued they realized that they needed each other or else, things where going to go on being the way they had been before they met and of all the things that the two could agree on, they agreed that things got better after they met each other, no matter how many more things got difficult.

Kai slowly pushed himself off the bed, wincing at the headache he got from all his thoughts. He got up and walked from room to room, putting together almost all his belongings to take back to the Dojo. As he did so the memories never stopped playing in his mind, like a permanent video playing over and over, a video he didn't quite mind seeing as the memories where almost all enjoyable ones. There where some that had been upsetting at the time but it was nice to look back on them and see how far they had all come. He even remembered the little things, like being called a great friend by Tori and being there for her when she was in the hospital to top up on her medication.

It was tough for the both of them so when thinking about how things worked that day Kai actually felt a bit proud of himself. He managed to remain calm for Tori's sake, despite being afraid of needles and hospitals. Tori was just as afraid of that kind of stuff, even though she had gotten used to it and wouldn't show her fear of them so when he was able to be there for her for once and be there when she expected him not to be made him feel like he had done something right for once.

Kai spent one more hour at the apartment before standing by the door, looking around the apartment in case he forgot anything before deciding to leave to get back to the Dojo. The walk back to the Dojo was a quiet one with no one to talk to and nothing really to think about aside from the silent cursing and praying that the pounding of his head would stop quickly. Kai arrived at the Dojo in little timing thanks to the lessened distractions and he quickly rushed up to his room where Max was waiting for him there.

The Russian ignored the blonde boy that sat on his bed and Kai just proceeded in putting some of his things out of the bag and into their places. Max sat on the bed for a while, his eyes following Kai as he watched the oldest boy walk from one side of the room to the other. "Kai…are you okay?" Max asked.

"I'm fine."

"You act like Tori not being here and not wanting us with her as though it means nothing to you."

"It's her decision."

"But that doesn't mean you have to be okay with it."

Kai didn't look back at the boy but his voice remained the same, cold, "I'm not but there's nothing I can do."

"But if it affects you, why don't you ever show it?"

"Do I have to?"

Max tried to find the right words to speak but found that he didn't really know how to go around the subject. Going on in his mind how he's still and kid and doesn't know how to deal with the situation properly. "I didn't say that…" He started carefully, "…It's just that you don't show us that you're bothered by it but you should."

Kai turned to Max, glaring down at him coldly, the words that passed his lips holding the same tone although feeling they'd falter at the sight of the upset Max but they didn't. "Don't you already know that I'm bothered by it?" he asked.

"Yeah, Kai but that's because we just know you too well but you keep holding it in and you can't do that."

"Why the hell not?!" Kai lashed out.

"Because you're going to hurt yourself this way." Max answered carefully, standing up to be a bit closer to Kai's level as to not be intimidated by the older boy's height.

Max was right and Kai knew it so he softened up and took a small step back so as not to scare the boy any longer. "I know." He whispered.

"And you can't possibly want that for yourself."

"I don't but there's nothing else." Kai walked over to the window and stared out, he couldn't look directly at Max, in fear that Max might see the bit of fear he had in him.

"You can let us help you." Max told him, walking up behind him. "You managed with Tori…you can with us too." He tried to convince.

Kai turned back to Max, nodding just slightly, "Thanks but I…"

"You can so come down stairs, get something to eat and talk to us for a while."

"About?"

"Well start about things that bother you…from any part of your life." Max smiled happily towards Kai, "Come on." He grabbed the older boy's hand and pulled him towards the door.

Kai stopped himself in his tracks but didn't let go of Max's hand. "What if they don't want me to?" he asked.

"Don't be stupid." Max told him, "They want you to open up as much as I want you to."

"I don't think I can."

"You'll never know till you try." Max laughed quietly, giving Kai a supportive smile before dragging his captain downstairs.

**A:N: Alright so maybe that chapter was also another boring one but now I've got my Easter holidays so I should have time for more updates. Please tell me what you think of how things are going so far, I've estimated that there are about 5 more chapters till this fic is finished and I have a sequel planned but I don't know if I'll write it for sure yet since I have a lot of things to sort out in it. Otherwise, I have another 'interesting' fic in mind that maybe you'll all like but I suppose we'll wait and see right? **

**So please leave me a review and I will get working on next chapter of this. Happy holidays for all of you who has them! Thanks for reading! **


	26. Here You Are

_**Chapter 26**_

The team sat and stood outside the bathroom door, all staring on a bit disappointedly. Kai had eaten like he said he would, he got tired after a while and then they got to talking. They all could tell that Kai was uncomfortable about talking about his personal life and his childhood so they tried to make him feel as comfortable as possible, just being careful, smiling and asking some of the littlest questions.

Kai had just talking about some things in his life at the time, not too much of the past as he would have preferred to keep the past buried. He just spoke about the nightmares feeling real, that they made him ill every time he woke up from one and explained that that was the reason Tori was keeping him out of some training. Through out the conversation Kai remained strong, his usual emotionless features and voice, although there where times that you'd hear his voice shake just slightly but that was all. This worried the team since it wasn't right to be talking about something that made your life a living hell and not show it, it worried them even though they showed Kai their supportive smiles and showed him how proud they actually where that he was talking about it.

_**---Flashback---**_

_Kai just sat back on the floor, his back against the sofa as he stared at the ground. He had his knees up to his chest and his arms held tight around them, not saying another word but feeling the others gaze on him. "Kai…" Ray started. "Are you alright?" he asked._

_Kai looked up at him, a blank look on his face at first before he gave a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, fine." He answered. "I'll be right back." He staggered to his feet and walked out of the room. _

_**---End Flashback---**_

That was just under ten minutes ago and all of them where waiting outside the bathroom for him. It wasn't that they didn't trust him or anything, it was just that they didn't really know what to expect. They didn't know if he just wanted to be alone or if he wasn't feeling well. Max turned to Ray, obviously looking upset and worried. "You think he's alright?" he asked.

"I don't know but we'll ask him when he's back out, after today maybe he'll be a little bit more open with us." Ray replied.

Tyson smiled and nodded in agreement, "Yeah, don't worry, Max."

The bathroom door slowly creaked open and Kai stepped out, at first he'd been staring at the ground but then noticed his friends that stood in front of him and he hurriedly looked up. He took in all those worried gazes that where on his friends' faces, "You didn't need to wait for me. I'm fine." He told them.

"What just happened then?" Tyson asked him, stepping closer to his captain.

"It was nothing." Kai answered him, "I need some painkillers, they're in the kitchen right?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Kai walked past them and into the kitchen while the others went back to the living room and settled on the ground again, talking quietly amongst themselves. In the meantime, Kai took two painkillers, gulping them down painfully with water. He took a moment of silence just to get used to his throbbing skull before he walked into the living room again and looked down at the others, "Talking about me?" he asked them.

"Why would you think that?" Max asked disappointedly.

Kai smirked and shook his head, "I don't."

"You're okay?" Ray asked him.

"I told you…I'm fine, really."

"He's saying the truth." A quiet voice said from by the door.

All eyes turned to the figure in the doorway, all seeing Denzelle standing there, tall and healthy. "What are you doing here? Did something happen?" Kai asked urgently, standing up in front of the girl.

Denzelle smiled and shook her head, "No, Tori just asked me to come and check on you all."

"Well we're all fine and by all, Kai not included because we really can't tell." Tyson said honestly.

Denzelle stood in front of Kai, placing her hand under his chin and turning his face to look at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and smiled, "He's fine…more than anything he just needs a good night sleep." She told them with a small laugh. She took her hand away from his face and then out of nowhere pulled out a white envelope, "And maybe this will help him get that good night sleep." She handed it to him and turned to leave and before either of the team members knew it, she was gone again.

Kai sat down on the sofa, wincing at the cringing pain in his neck as he sat back and put his feet up onto the table as he opened the letter.

"What is it, Kai?" Tyson asked.

The team captain ignored the other boy and began to read the hand writing,

_Dear Kai, _

_I guess you feel pretty bad by now. I'm sorry for what I did, I admit I should have told you that I was going for the surgery but I guess I was just afraid that it would make it harder on the both of us and you couldn't handle anymore on your mind at the time. Also, I didn't want you to be here when it happened. _

_I guess now you feel…confused that I don't want any of you here but its understandable. Look, its not that I don't want all of your help but it's just that I have my reasons. You had your reasons for doing a lot of things by yourself, now this is the same with me, I have a feeling I should do this alone, I'm not too sure why but I guess I feel I need to prove to myself some things before I try to have…a life. I don't know how I'm going to deal with being alive and actually having a life, I never really thought about my future that much. _

_I just really hope you understand why I have to do this alone. Please take care of yourself while I'm here and please keep an eye on the others but take things easy for your own sake and mine, I don't want to come out of here and find you're dead or anything. Keep safe._

_Love from, _

_Tori!_

_P.S I plugged my phone back in and Denzelle is getting my charger from the apartment, along with my laptop so we can talk sometime, there isn't anything mechanical in my room anymore so I can use it in here._

Like Denzelle had thought, the letter was quite comforting for Kai to read and all he could do after reading that was take a sharp breath and rest his head back. "Kai…" Max called out.

Kai didn't say a word in reply and just handed the youngest boy the letter, Tyson and Ray grouping over Max's shoulder to read what was on the white sheet of paper. "You see, she's fine Kai." Max smiled happily when he was finished.

"Yeah." Kai smiled back.

Tyson took the letter from Max and gently set it on the table before looking at Ray who sat beside him. Ray got off the ground and sat beside Kai, looking at him, waiting with patience for the boy to come out of his moment of rest and silence. Kai lifted his head a bit and looked on, some fear in his eyes as he saw everyone turned to look at him. "Kai…are you going to be okay tonight?" Ray asked, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You know Kai," Tyson started hesitantly, "now that we know what's going on, maybe we could stay with you for the night if you need us to." He offered.

"He's right." Ray agreed.

"Yeah and we don't mind, if it helps you and will make you feel better than we _should_ stay with you." Max urged.

"Thanks for the offer…but I don't need that right now." Kai answered him, gaining his cold attitude again. The others didn't say a word to that and Kai just got up and left the room, his team mates hearing him walk up the stairs to his bedroom.

**---Half An Hour Later---**

Kai just sat cross-legged on his bed, most likely in deep thought as he stared at the blankets on the bed, doing nothing ever since he'd gotten back upstairs to his room. He wasn't up for a longer conversation with the others and just wanted to get away from there for a while. That was when he saw Max pass by his bedroom and he called the boy, "Hey, Max!" he called out.

Max smiled and popped his head through the door, "Yeah, Kai?"

"You think…if I sleep in tomorrow morning, you can leave me to it. I'm pretty tired and I don't know if I can wake up in time for training tomorrow."

"Sure Kai, not a problem."

"Thanks." Kai whispered, nodding.

"Are you alright though?"

"Yeah, just that I have a headache and I'm tired so I don't know how that'll turn out."

"You've taken those painkillers right?" Max asked, sitting by his captain's side.

"Yeah, one for the pain, the second to help the affects."

"Than it's probably that you need to sleep so get some rest and come and wake one of us if you need something."

"Yeah…thanks."

Max smiled and turned to leave, "Good night, Kai." He called before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Kai moved himself back and then pulled the covers out from underneath him, lying down and neatly setting them over his body. He turned onto his side to sleep this time, keeping his arm under his pillow for support. He tried to find the most comfortable position he could but already his mind was pounding with painful past memories so comfort was something that couldn't be found.

He gave up and just closed his eyes, only being interrupted of his attempted slumber by his mobile ringing on the bedside table. He groaned, wondering who would possibly be texting him at that time, he reached his hand out off the bed and picked the phone up, flipped it open and opened his eyes to look down at the message. **_'Good night, sweet dreams.' _**Obviously there was only one person who'd send him that, Tori of course.

Kai smiled at her concideration, then slowly typing back a reply. He only got as far as **_'Good Ni' _**before feeling that his eyes were drooping shut, clearly the medication was taking an affect, at the wrong times and with a strong force. Kai flicked his hand slightly and his phone shut again before he finally fell asleep, one arm under the pillow to aid his aching head, his other hand gripping his phone tightly in his hands and a gentle breeze from outside his window entering the room and gently brushing against his shoulders.

For the most part, the sleep was peaceful since Kai was far too tired for his mind to let him dream, let alone hurt him with a nightmare. But as the night progressed and Kai's mind became more stable the more his mind brought up more memories. So at five in the morning, when he shot up in bed in a cold sweat, Kai knew that what had happened was something to be afraid of but because of the hold the painkillers had taken on him he didn't quite remember a lot when he woke up, which was something he was not complaining about.

Not remembering what had happened during the night was like a treat, that way whatever had hurt him in his sleep wouldn't haunt him when he woke up too. He adjusted his pillows and he sat back against them, his heart beat slowly returning to its calm pace. He picked his phone up from by his side where he had almost slept on it and moved it back to the table. Once taking into account that he was feeling better he fixed the pillows back down and lay back again, slowly dozing off again.

**---Late Next Morning---**

It was eleven in the morning and the whole team was grouped in Kai's room, all keeping an eye on Kai's sleeping form. The boy had woken up about two hours earlier, choking on his own breathing so hard that they thought he was going to suffocate on his own breath. He had been so caught up in trying to breathe and control his heart and his tears that he didn't notice his team mates in his room standing behind him. He'd then slowed down, dropped his head back onto the pillow and fell asleep again in under a minute.

So now the team kept a close eye on their team leader in case something else happened, which so far, nothing else did. Although they didn't need to be that protective for that much longer since within a few minutes Kai was waking up again, carefully and slowly this time. Once grasping the idea that he'd slept in Kai sat up a little faster instead of taking things as easy as he would have liked.

A hand was quickly placed onto Kai's shoulder and then it slowly pushed Kai back against the pillows. "Slow down." Ray ordered him.

"What's the problem?" Kai asked, wincing at how raspy his voice was.

"You weren't well last night." Max told him, sitting beside him.

"So you have to take things easy for a while." Tyson added.

"What are you saying? I feel fine."

"Just stay there till we know you're alright." Ray sighed annoyingly. "What do you want for breakfast?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Kai…" Max whispered, obviously upset that Kai was going back to not eating.

Kai heard Max's disappointment and sighed inwardly, not wanting to upset the younger boy since he'd learnt to have a good…friendship with the boy. "Fruit." He groaned to Ray.

Ray smiled, nodded and left the room quickly to get his captain some breakfast.

Kai turned to Max, no real emotion in his eyes other than some humorous frustration, "You aren't really going to leave me here right?" he asked.

"It's for your own good, Kai." Tyson laughed at him.

"This is cruel. I never treated you like this." Kai told him.

"No, you didn't." Tyson teased, "Instead you treated us worse by making us go out when we were sick."

"I was doing you a favour." Kai retorted sadly, sitting back properly again.

"Now we're returning the favour." Max laughed.

Kai groaned, rolling his eyes with a bit of irritation but a small and very vague smile on his face. All eyes then shot to the object of the ringing sound that came from beside the bed. Kai reached over Max and picked up his phone, eyes widening slightly on seeing that it was Tori calling. Kai flipped open the phone and brought it to his ear slowly, "Hello."

_"Hey there, sunshine." _

Kai raised an eyebrow at her quick and happy greeting, despite the weakness in her voice. "Sunshine? Who are you trying to kid?" he asked her.

_"Hey, I'm doing fine; it's just the morphine getting to me. What's wrong with you?" _

"The others said that I wasn't well last night so they're keeping me in bed."

_"Their first night on the duty and their already making your life a living hell." _Tori laughed sweetly at her own comment.

While Kai was about to answer to that sarcastically, he was getting quite annoyed at the two teenagers by his sides that where hitting his shoulder whispering to him to let them speak to Tori. Finally Tyson pinched Kai's arm and Kai swore heavily under his breath although he was sure that Max had heard him, "Alright, alright. I'm going to let you talk to the others before they start bruising me." Kai handed the phone to Tyson before Tori got a chance to even answer but he could hear a small laugh.

Max moved over Kai and sat next to Tyson so he could hear what Tori was saying and get to talk to her too, _"Hey boys." _

"Hey Tori." Max and Tyson greeted happily.

_"How are you two?" _

"How are we? How are you?!" Tyson said quickly.

Tori laughed casually, seeing how worried he actually was about her. _"I'm fine. Doctors said I should be out of here in about two weeks." _She replied. _"Now, off topic, how are you all? You're not torturing Kai too much, right?" _

"We don't know yet but he's still alive." Max laughed.

"And we're doing fine, still trying to get over the fact that you lied to us though."

_"Yeah…about that, I'm really sorry but really, I didn't think I was going to change my mind and I didn't want to hurt you guys." _

"We get it but just for that you have to give us days off once you get back." Tyson said, grinning.

"Not on my watch." Kai shouted, though shouting not because he was angry but just shouting so that it was clear to the two teenagers and so that Tori could hear him.

Tori laughed upon hearing him and she spoke quietly, _"Yeah, I don't think that Kai would approve of that but I'll try my best. Well I need to go soon so you think I can talk to Kai quickly before I go?" _

"Sure. Bye Tori, get well soon." Tyson said, handing the phone to Max.

"Bye!" Max happily called before passing the phone back to Kai who took it readily.

Kai said hi again to the girl but the two teenagers remained by his side. He coughed in indication that he wanted them to leave, Tyson obviously not getting it but Max picking up quickly on what was going on, "Hey Tyson, lets go help Ray with the food and maybe we could get a snack too." Max told him, grabbing his arm quickly and jumping off the bed.

"Good idea, Maxie."

Kai watched as the two teenagers left and Max closed the door behind them. Kai turned back to the girl he was on the phone with, "So, two weeks huh?"

_"Yeah but they'll just fly by, I'm sure." _

Kai sighed, turning and lying on his side. "You're sure you don't want us to come and see you?" he asked her, worriedly.

_"I'm positive; I need to do this by myself." _

"Mr Dickinson told us that you were afraid that the surgery would change your personality…are you sure you can handle that?"

_"Yeah, I'll manage it; I've got my best friends behind me anyway don't I?" _

"Of course you do."

_"So I'll be fine." _

"You had better be." Kai muttered, smirking.

_"Yeah, you too, you know? I want you alive when I'm out of here." _

"Don't worry, I'll live."

_"Good. So…maybe we can talk a little later?" _

"Sure, on the condition you look after yourself." Kai told her.

_"Yeah, I'm just about to go to the children's ward, then get some rest." _

"Alright. Then we'll talk later, take care of yourself."

_"Yeah, you too." _

The two hung up and Kai placed his phone on his bedside table, then curling back under the covers. Just when he'd gotten comfortable and closed his eyes Ray walked into the room with a bowl of fruit and a plate with toast on it. Kai turned over to look at him and raised an eyebrow at him when he saw Ray smiling so much, "What?" he asked.

"Nothing." Ray replied, not being able to remove the smile from his face as he handed Kai the bowl of fruit.

"I haven't a smile on your face that big since Tori pushed Tyson down the stairs and then stepped on his back." Kai pointed out to him in hopes of getting an answer. He sat back up, sitting comfortably against the pillows as he took the bowl of fruit salad. He hadn't originally wanted a fruit salad, he just wanted an apple or something but Ray was sometimes like that, you asked for something and he'd make something bigger than what you asked for.

"It's nothing; I just think this thing with Tori is really…"

"If you say 'cute' I _will_ hurt you." Kai informed him, sounding amazingly serious.

The smile on Ray's face very slowly disappeared, "Alright, I'm going to shut up now." He whispered.

"That's the smartest thing I've heard you say all week."

"You wouldn't blame someone for being honest, right?"

"If being honest involves the word 'cute' in it than yes, I will blame you for being honest."

Ray thought for a second, while watching Kai eat some of the fruit salad. "So what can I use to describe you and Tori together?"

"Not 'cute'." Kai smirked.

"I get it, not cute." Ray laughed. "But I guess I do think it's pretty…" Kai raised his eyes from the bowl and glared at him, "sweet." Ray finished.

"Nice save." Kai told him, turning back to the fruit.

"I thought so too."

Kai sat there in silence, not giving Ray that much importance as he just continued eating his food and Ray didn't say much, thinking that Kai might say something sooner or later if he where ready to. About ten minutes past and Kai had said nothing so far, his hand had been shaking a little but it stopped after a while. "Kai, you alright?" Ray asked, concern obvious in his voice.

"It's not fair." Kai said, quietly. He didn't meet Ray's gaze, instead staring down at his bare scarred hands.

"What's not fair?" Ray asked, confused.

"The fact that she's gone, even after she knows I'm already having a hard time dealing with all this." Kai rubbed his temples, taking a deep breath. "She's too young, she's too _good _to have died so suddenly or so young. She doesn't deserve to suffer so I guess I feel selfish that I want her here."

"You're not selfish, you just got used to her being around so now that you can't see her as much you feel helpless, it happens." Ray reminded him quietly. "It's normal for people to do that sometimes and I know she's young and she doesn't deserve it but there's nothing anyone could have done, the surgery was her choice to make and in the end, she did what you wanted and not what she had wanted but now we just need to trust her to do what she wants for once."

"I do trust her but I don't want her all alone, I know how she feels about these kinds of things and I don't want her to suffer alone with it."

"Maybe now you know how she feels with things when it comes to you."

"I'm different." Kai muttered.

"How do you think that?"

Kai didn't answer, just kept staring on at the bowl, he'd stopped eating and stare is all he could do.

"... Kai?"

"I don't want to lose her; I really…care about her." Kai said, so quietly that Ray had almost missed it.

Almost.

"If she…if she dies…" Kai broke off, a slight grimace on his face. "then the team won't be the same without her. _I _won't be the same without her and I don't want to ruin any other part of my life because if I lose her than I'll go through another change and I can't handle that."

"She's got less of a chance of dieing now. I say we should just leave her to do what she needs to and then she'll be back and you'll both be better."

"Yeah." Kai whispered.

"Is there more?" Ray asked him.

"No."

Ray placed a hand on Kai's shoulder, "Kai?" The captain didn't give his team mate any answer and Ray just stood up, giving the shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Eat and get some rest, I'll be in my room." He told him, hesitantly leaving his captain's bedroom.

Kai dumped the bowl of fruit on the bedside table by the plate of toast on the table. He pushed himself down under the covers, pulling the blankets tighter around his form, placing a hand to his mouth before coughing into it. His breathing slowly returned to a decent level and Kai just felt drained after it happened, he refused to fall asleep again though and didn't even dare close his eyes, in fear of falling asleep. All he could do though was yell at himself in his own mind, wondering why everyday something was wrong with him. He hated it but clearly there was nothing he could do, it was just stress taking its toll on his body, paying him back for all the years of abuse he put it through and others put him through.

Tears where stinging his eyes half the time and the coughing fits started up occasionally. The laboured breathing and sun light from the window shining in Kai's eyes was the last that he could take, he squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his pillow before finally losing consciousness, which to him was the best thing that could have happened to him at the time.

**---A Week Later--- **

Ever since that infuriating day a week before, Kai had been doing better. Ray had forced him to see a doctor and it was conformed that all the effects Kai was having was all because of the stress he was under. It wasn't fatal or anything, more than anything it was just a bit inconvenient for him. Ray had been hinting at Kai to talk to the doctor about the nightmares and other things to see if he could see someone about it but Kai just glared at the boy for the whole time the doctor was there, showing him that he didn't want to tell a doctor about those things and he was going to be fine without it. So Ray just let it slide and didn't persist any longer but he being the next oldest he was the one that kept the closest eye on the captain.

He always made sure that Kai wasn't drinking or going to bed late and that he got enough sleep while still trying to maintain Kai's privacy and pride. There was one more week till they all saw Tori again and Kai was handling things just fine. The two teenagers spoke practically everyday, either on the phone or over the internet since Tori had got her laptop back and she hadn't been plugged into any machinery lately so she was allowed to use it in her room.

The girl had been fine, most of the time at least. Whenever she was upset about something she felt that she could really depend on Kai so she used to call him and just talk for an hour or so and when it was over she'd felt like she was the happiest girl alive and she'd promised Kai, that she wouldn't change and she promised that no matter what happened to her while she was away from him she was going to keep smiling like she always did when something bad happened. The brain tumour had made her the person she was and now that it was gone she didn't want to lose the person it had moulded her into since that person was the one that drew Kai close to her and that person was the one that had made her first group of friends that she'd had ever since she was a young child.

The time that the two teenagers spent away from each other didn't go away wasted or anything. It gave Tori the courage to finally tell Kai how she really felt about him, even if it took about three hours of trying to pluck up the courage.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_Tori sat on her hospital bed with her legs crossed, her right hand on her heated up laptop as she tapped it impatiently. She'd been talking to Kai for about two hours and she was just jumping inside to tell him that she loved him but she was just afraid that he wasn't ready to hear that just yet. Then again, maybe he needed to hear what she needed to say. But this was something she didn't want to risk. Back then she used to risk things because she'd die soon and wouldn't have to deal with it but now it was different and she didn't know what to do. _

_"You're really quiet today." Kai told her, obviously through the internet messenger they were using. _

_"Yeah, sorry. Was just thinking." Tori typed back. She sighed a bit, 'Great, he's starting to notice.' _

_"About?" _

_"Nothing much." _

_"If you're this distracted it must be something, I'm not stupid." _

_"What has Ray been feeding you? I think you've gotten smarter since I left for the surgery." _

_"Oh you're so funny." Kai said sarcastically. _

_"Hey, I'm the one stuck in hospital, I deserve to crack a joke once in a while." _

_"I never said you don't but why can't you just go and tease Tyson? That's fun." _

_"Yeah but that's predictable." _

_"Try dealing with him for five years, than tell me what's predictable." _

_"Alright, I get it, you don't like it there but don't worry, I'll be out of here soon and then we're both back at the apartment." _

_"Thank goodness." _

_Tori sat back against the back of her bed which had been turned up by a nurse when Tori had first switched on her computer. She didn't say anything else but her eyes just wandered around the room as she continued tapping at her laptop. _

_"So tell me. What are you thinking about?" _

_Tori sat forward again and hesitated at first before typing and hitting enter. "Kai…you know I really care about you right?" _

_"It's really hard not to notice so yes, of course I know and you know I care back right?" _

_"Yeah, of course and that's why I guess recently by not being around you all the time, it made me realize more how much I really love you and I'm not just saying that because right now, I think it's the only thing I'm sure about." _

_Clearly the whole thing took a while for it to sink in on Kai's end since he wasn't quick to answer, three minutes passed and still no answer and tears where already sliding from Tori's eyes. The nurse, the one she'd always known ever since that time when Kai was with her at her check up, walked into the room and saw the girl crying. "What's wrong, sweetie?" She placed a hand on the girl's back and rubbed it soothingly. _

_"I just told my boyfriend I love him." Tori told her, mustering up a smile as she'd promised Kai. _

_"Oh, that's nothing, I'm sure he loves you too. It's hard not to love you." The nurse smiled supportively, somehow making Tori feel a lot better than she thought it would. _

_  
"That's sweet. Thanks." _

_"I just thought I'd come check up on you so I'll leave you alone. The doctor will check on you soon enough." _

_The nurse left after her words had been said and Tori turned back to her computer screen, seeing that Kai had finally written something. "I was never sure but now being made to actually think about it I know I love you too." _

_"You're not just saying that?" _

_"You know me; I'm not going to lie about something like that." _

_"Yeah, that's true." Tori was smiling happily again, it seemed like nothing really stopped her from doing that at all. Then she saw her doctor walk into the room and she sighed and quickly turned back to the computer screen. "But now I have to go, I've got a check up and the doctor needs to talk to me about some things." _

_"Alright, I'll talk to you later then. Take care of yourself." _

_"Yeah, you too." _

_Tori shut her laptop and placed it on her bed side table, then turning to look at the doctor, smiling happily in silence. The doctor looked on at her in a bit of surprise, amazed at how the girl was always happily and kindly smiling at everyone really. _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

****

That was three days ago and now Tori was standing in her casual attire by the window of her hospital room. Thankfully, she'd gained a little weight which made her look healthier and beautifully slender instead of just skin and bones. Her auburn hair was cut neatly shorter than it used to be, just above shoulder length. It had needed to be cut for the surgery and it quickly grew back for her, making her sweet face and smile stand out more.

She didn't like her short hair though. She used to quite like how her hair brushed over her shoulders, giving her pale skin a nice glow to it. Her sparkling brown eyes shined as she continued staring outside, it was as though whenever she smiled, her eyes where smiling with her just to emphasize her happiness and will. "Denzelle…" she whispered.

"Yes, Mistress." Denzelle asked. She had been sitting in the corner of the room, keeping an eye on her Mistress to make sure that she was actually okay.

"I think…" Tori started quietly. "I might stop singing." She told her.

"What? Why, Mistress?" Denzelle asked urgently, moving closer to her Mistress by sitting on the bed exactly behind Tori.

"I don't think I'm capable of doing that anymore."

"Why would you say that? You're very much capable; it was only a few days ago that you were singing in the children's ward again."

"Yeah but while I was singing…it felt so…forced, not like all the other times."

"That doesn't mean you can't sing anymore." Denzelle protested.

Tori shook her head a bit and sat back down on the bed, her loyal bit-beast sitting just behind her. "It just won't be the same, I leave here in at least three days and I don't want to go out of here a changed person but there are some things I can't control." She said.

"Because right now you don't want to control it! You can't just stop singing now, you're too good, you just need to continue and it'll come to you."

"I suppose."

"You just need to prove to yourself that you can do it."

"Yeah." Tori nodded and turned to her bit-beast, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks."

Denzelle suddenly smiled happily, "Anytime, Mistress." She whispered, resting her head on her Mistress' shoulder.

That was when a little form came running in. A little blonde five year old girl ran up to Tori's side of the bed and stood in front of her, handing out a plate with a big slice of chocolate cake on it as she smiled up happily towards the two teenagers. "Eh?" Tori looked on confusedly at the little girl she knew as Mio.

"It's my birthday…and mom got me cake to share." Mio said, jerking the plate closer to Tori.

Tori smiled down at the girl, gave her a kiss on the forehead and took the piece of cake. "Happy birthday, honey." She whispered.

Mio remained smiling and then ran out of the room again with the plastic plate.

Denzelle kept smiling sadly as she stared on after the girl before she got up and walked over to the chair she'd been sitting in earlier when keeping an eye on her Mistress. Tori walked up beside her and knelt down on the ground beside the chair and broke the piece of cake in half and handed Denzelle a piece. Denzelle looked at her Mistress, smiling, "You're sure?" she asked her.

"Yeah."

Denzelle took the cake from her Mistress' hand and Tori moved up to sit on the arm rest of the chair Denzelle was on as they both dug into the big piece of cake.


	27. Still The Same

_**Chapter 27**_

**---Two Days Later---**

Tori ran out of the hospital entrance, her back pack over one shoulder and her leather case in her hand that held her laptop. She was smiling happily, you could never see a brighter smile on any one else's faces, this was Tori and the way she was, she was happy, more than anything to be happy to be finally free of the hospital. She had told the team she wasn't going to be back out for another two days, just so that she could go to the Dojo to surprise them. So, taking one nice look at the clear blue sky and shining sunlight, she smiled happily and ran down the streets to the Dojo.

**---With The Team- At The Dojo---**

The three teenagers sat by themselves in the Dojo with nothing to do. Kai had gone out for a walk and had given the others a few hours off while he was gone. The room was mostly silent, Max was reading a comic book, Ray was reading some other book that no one had any idea what it was about and Tyson was eating again, nothing really new about that scene.

"Mina!" A happy voice called in the distance. **(Translation: "Everyone!") **Everyone looked up from what they were doing, wondering if they'd heard clearly. "Mina!" the voice called again.

"It's Tori!" Max exclaimed, rushing to his feet and racing out the door, the other two in the room glancing at each other before chasing after him.

Tori had just stopped in front of the porch, dropped all her things and ran straight up to Max, him being the first person out there and she latched her arms around his neck. She'd been through an emotional rollercoaster for the past two weeks and now all she wanted to do was be with her best friends. Now that they were there in front of her, she couldn't be happier, especially seeing the smiles on their faces that almost outshined her own. They all pulled each other out of the hugs and settled on the porch, all happy that Tori was back while Tori was happy to see her friends again. You'd think that just because they were away from each other for two weeks that it was no big deal and that the whole thing shouldn't have been so emotional but it was, mainly because within those two weeks they could have lost their friend and Tori was having a rough time going through things alone. So the reunion stirred up some of the emotions that had been messing with them for those two weeks.

"What are you doing here? We thought you weren't going to be back for a few more days?" Ray asked her, once everyone's emotions returned to normal.

"I know but I just wanted to surprise you guys." Tori replied.

"You managed." Max laughed.

"Clearly." Tori smiled at him.

"So you're alright now?" Tyson asked her, almost worriedly at the time despite his happiness.

"Perfectly normal."

Ray raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "And that's the truth this time?"

Tori nodded, the smile never leaving her face, "The perfectly honest truth." She replied to him.

"That's good then."

"Yeah so where's the train wreck?" Tori asked.

"The pile of dishes in the sink or Kai?" Ray asked her.

"Kai, of course." Tori laughed.

"He went off for a walk a while ago, he hasn't come back yet but he should be here soon." Max answered her kindly.

"I hope so…I was really looking forward to seeing him again." Tori said. She said it almost disappointedly but the smile on her face never ceased, she had made a promise and she was about to break it unless she was told to by the one she made the promise to.

"We bet." Ray muttered with a smirk.

Tori looked up quickly upon hearing that, then seeing that glint in his eye that showed her that he knew what was going on between his captain and her before she turned to look at the ground, the creepy red blush appearing on her face.

Ray let the blush slide and didn't call her on it which Tori was very thankful for, considering she had realized that Tyson was the last to realize the relationship. The conversation went on for a while, till Ray realized that Tori wouldn't stop smiling, even they were having the most upsetting of conversations. "Hey Tori, come help me get some drinks from the kitchen." He told her, getting up.

"Sure." Tori got up and walked behind him to the kitchen.

"So what are you trying to pull?" Ray asked as he pulled four glasses out of the cupboard.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Tori looked on at him a little confused but as always that hint of a smile was still there, in her eyes too.

"You've been smiling all day, even at the worst times, what's up with that?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's not…right. You're acting like Kai; you're pretending that things are perfectly fine."

"I am not." Tori told him.

"Yeah you are."

"I'm not and I'm not in the mood to argue either." Tori told him, walking out the room again.

Ray sighed, leaning back against the counter for a moment of thought. He pushed himself away from the kitchen counter and walked over to the phone, dialling Kai's number and patiently waiting for the Russian to pick up his phone. _"Hello?" _

"Hey, Kai. Where are you?" Ray asked him.

"_Out for a walk, I'll be there soon."_

"Good because Tori's here."

"_What?! She wasn't meant to be out for at least two more days!" _

"She wanted to surprise you."

"_Well how is she?"_

"She's smiling…only smiling Kai." Ray told him, his voice shaking slightly. "Like you made her promise." He added.

Kai sighed on the other end of the line; the way Ray had put things made Kai feel how bad things actually where and just answered quietly, _"I'll be there within half an hour." _Before he finally hung up the phone.

Ray walked back to the kitchen and picked up the drinks from the counter before taking them outside to the others. That's when he noticed the girl was missing. "Where's Tori?" he asked the others, placing the glasses on the ground in front of his friends.

"She went to look for Kai." Tyson answered.

"And you just let her go?" Ray asked him angrily.

"Yeah. She really wanted to see him." Tyson blinked at Ray's attitude.

**---With Tori---**

Tori walked down a long street, staring at the ground, her hand gripping her backpacks strap tightly in her palm as the other hand gripped the handle of her laptop case. She really wanted to find Kai and talk to him and just when she thought about it again, there he was, slowly walking in her direction. Ask and you shall receive apparently.

Once Kai saw who it was that was three metres in front of him he stopped in his tracks, staring on at the girl before speaking quietly, "You're out."

"Yeah." Tori smiled and nodded.

"Look, I know you had a rough time in the hospital and taking it all alone…"

Tori nodded, she tried so hard, really hard to hold a smile on her face but it kept jerking back down but she held it in place as long as she could.

Kai looked on sadly at her, showing the first sign of emotion that he'd shown in the past four days towards anyone, his mouth opening slightly in a silent protest and at the same time trying to find something to say to her in a time when he didn't know what to do. "You…" he started. He walked forward quickly, Tori on seeing him move so close to her, she dropped her bags to the ground, and then he just wrapped his arms loosely around the girl, his right hand holding her head closer to his shoulder. "Don't be stupid now. You don't need to smile all the time around me, let go." He whispered to her in her ear. The finally he heard what he was aiming for; the girl broke down, snuggling into his chest and sobbing uncontrollably. She'd kept her promise and now she was told to break it, which she more than graciously did.

**---8pm- On The Beach---**

Tori and Kai sat comfortably on the cool shaded sand of the beach that they were always at. Kai sat just behind Tori with his arms wrapped around Tori's waste, occasionally letting his chin rest on her shoulder, careful not to pressure her too much as he didn't know if she was well or not. The two had been sitting like that in silence for over three quarters of an hour, Kai just giving her a peck on the cheek once in a while, having her make a sweet and honest smile while she sometimes just stroked his hand that was latched around her thin waist. "Together again." Tori whispered, staring out at the waves in the sea.

"Yeah."

"It feels great."

Kai tightened his hold on her just slightly, "You know…I really did miss having you around."

"And it felt horrible to wake up by myself." Tori whispered, turning her head to the side.

"So you're not going to leave again right?" Kai wanted to check, he didn't want her walking out on him anytime soon, he…loved her. He found it strange hearing himself say that in his own mind but he managed but now that he loved her he didn't want her to go.

"I see no need to." Tori told him sweetly, giving him a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth where he smiled.

Kai kept smiling at her and then stood up, placing a hand down for her to take. "Then let's go home, you need to rest."

"I do not." Tori pouted, taking his hand and standing up, picking up all her things and walking with Kai off the beach.

"Yeah, you do and I'm going to make sure you get it." Kai told her.

"Really? How?" Tori asked, more than anything trying to act stupid.

Kai realized what she was implying and how she managed to turn what he'd said into the dirty sense so he reacted by rolling his eyes and hitting her shoulder gently with the back of his hand. "Shut up." He whispered almost childishly.

"You can't blame me for joking around." Tori told him.

"I really can't but I'm sure I could find a way."

"I have no doubts." Tori laughed.

The two teenagers smiled and laughed the whole way back to the Dojo to get Kai's things, then to the apartment where they were finally there together again. When Kai came out of the bathroom and to his bedroom, it felt good to see Tori lying there again. He was so used to having her there at first, then for a while it was as though she disappeared from his life and every night he went to bed by himself and woke up with that same empty space beside him that he'd gone to bed with.

But Tori was back now and she wasn't about to leave him again just yet and both where thankful that the other wasn't about to disappear from the others life. Kai lay down under the covers of his bed, Tori opening her eyes and looking at him with a smile on her face, that didn't change at least. Tori pushed herself closer to him and willingly Kai wrapped his arm around her waist as he always did, just lying there as Tori continued smiling at him, although clearly she was thinking about something important.

"Kai…" Tori started, her voice just above a whisper, gently stroking his shoulder with her finger tips.

"Yeah?" Kai looked at her hand that stroked his arm, she usually did that when she was saying something he really didn't want to hear, or just wasn't in the mood of hearing.

"We worked out my problems…now that they're out of the way, let's take some time to sort out yours."

Kai looked on, just a bit upset at what she was saying but knowing that the worrying girl was right when she said that he had things to sort out, she hadn't said it directly but it's what she obviously implied by saying that he had to sort things out, there was a lot to try to sort out and now that one problem, one stress was out of the way, he could concentrate a bit more on himself. Kai nodded almost numbly, being unable to say anything else, finding that there was nothing else left to say because it was just something he had to agree with or risk arguing for days about.

Tori moved closer, obviously happy that he agreed with her, who knew that it took two weeks of them apart and a near death experience to get the boy to agree to getting help. "We can talk about it after tomorrow." She told him.

"What's happening tomorrow?"

Tori smirked, she loved teasing him so much. "You'll find out tomorrow, I've got a surprise." She whispered, closing his eyes to finally sleep.

"Hey, tell me." Kai told her, annoyed. But he didn't get an answer from her, her breathing was nice, calm and rhythmic and the girl was sleeping soundly. "Wow you make me want to hate you sometimes." Kai muttered, closing his eyes.

"I love you too." Tori whispered to him with a smirk.

Kai opened his eyes, smiling when he knew that she could still hear him. He leaned over, gave her temple a quick kiss and rested his head back down on the pillow, closing his eyes and letting himself get some sleep.

**---6am-**** Next Morning--- **

Kai lay tiredly in bed, running his fingers along Tori's arm and side as he continued to watch the girl sleeping. He'd just woken up a few minutes before, he got used to waking up early every morning that now it was normal. He was always waking up early with worry about the girl, wondering if she was alright, even before she went into the hospital for the surgery. Now he just supposed he was having a hard time factoring in that he could get some rest because nothing bad was going to happen to her anymore.

Tori turned onto her side, pushing herself closer to Kai and snuggling close into to his chest, a small kiss being placed on his shoulder. "It's early, you can go back to sleep." She whispered sleepily.

"You too."

Tori smiled already, just after 6am and she was already smiling, how many teenage girls do you know that does that every morning? "I was in a hospital for the last two weeks and my heart stop beating during surgery, trust me, I've had enough sleep for a while." She opened her eyes and sat up slightly, her eyes happily smiling back at him along with the smile on her lips. "You're not still worrying about me, are you?" She asked quietly as she sat up on her side, gaining her support from her elbow that dug into her pillow.

Kai kept his hand on her waste but just stared down at the covers as he shrugged, "Maybe."

"You _don't_ need to do that anymore though."

Kai pulled both arms around Tori, pulling her so that when he turned onto his back she rested her head on his shoulder, while he tried to put a small smile on his face. "It's a good thing for me to worry a little, shows you that I do care about you." Kai told her that, more as a last minute resort for an excuse to give her.

"But I already know."

"And I know that you care about me and you still worry."

"Yeah but I worry about a lot of things." Tori told him.

"I'll give you that." Kai nodded in agreement, a smirk on his face.

Tori was a bit more serious than him now though. She slowly lifted her head and sat up, looking down at Kai before moving over him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before looking into his eyes as she stroked his cheek sensitively, a soft smile on her face. "It's high time you stopped worrying and you look after yourself from now on and now that you've helped me, I can help you." She was quiet and careful with the boy, just watching him as he stared on at her with nothing more to say.

Tori rested her head on his chest, curling her arms by Kai's sides, stroking his arm as the two lay there in absolute silence till Tori fell asleep again, a sleep she needed and deserved.

After a few minutes Kai sighed, looking down at the girl before slowly moving her off of him and back onto her side of the bed. He got up, careful so as not to wake up the other teenager. He picked up his clothes and went to the bathroom, dumping them in there. Quietly he made his way to the kitchen, taking his time and making himself a cup of coffee, a little frustrated that there was no more fruit left for his breakfast so making a mental note of what Tori needed to buy after two weeks of being away from the apartment.

Kai rested forward against the counter, his elbows on the surface as he sipped his coffee quietly, taking his time with every action, thinking that Tori wasn't going to be waking up any time soon and he most definitely wasn't in any hurry to go to training with the others. Tori passed by the kitchen, walking back in reverse when her eye had caught sight of Kai in there, seeing the Russian boy standing there she smiled and quietly stepped up behind him. She leant against the counter to join him, looking at him before giving his forearm a quick poke of her index finger, gaining Kai's attention. "Are you okay?" she asked, a sweet, innocent looking pout on her face that pointed out her worry clearly.

Kai turned his head away from her again and nodded in reply.

"Alright. I'm going to go get ready." Tori reached over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room.

_'By the time she's done she's going to have the patience of a saint.' _Kai thought, upset.

_'She's here now so why are you acting this way?' _Dranzer asked him.

_'I don't know.' _

_'I think that you're just being defensive and you're protecting yourself again.' _

_'I don't get it.' _

_'You're working in reverse now. You're protecting yourself from something you think will happen but won't.' _

_'That shouldn't happen.' _

_'But it can and it is so go and relax, look forward to Tori's surprise and spending the day with her and take things easy.' _

_'I guess you're right.' _

Dranzer blinked for a second, actually wondering if he'd heard correctly which apparently he had, actually being surprised that his Master had given in so easily. _'Yes I am.' _He agreed.

_'Don't push it.' _

_'I just thought I'd take advantage.' _

_'You thought wrong.' _

_'Clearly.' _

During the conversation Kai was making himself another cup of coffee, taking it to the living room. He sat back on the sofa, his fingers tightening around the hot mug as he stared out off the balcony from where he sat. "Kai…" Tori whispered, standing in the door way, her hand on the doorframe as she looked on at him worriedly.

Kai closed his eyes, taking a breath before muttering, "Can I get some peace?"

Tori walked over to him, sitting down exactly opposite him on the coffee table, hoping he'd look at her sometime soon. "What's this about?" she asked carefully.

"It's nothing." Kai was monotonous, there where times when he'd be like this again, no one could change him completely, not even Tori.

Tori sat there in silence; giving Kai a chance to maybe change his mind and tell her what was wrong with him. Obviously, he didn't say another word; the boy was stubborn, plain and simple. "Alright, don't tell me. I'll be in my room; we leave in about two hours." She got up and walked out of the living room, a sigh escaping her again. She shook her head as she entered her bedroom, throwing the door shut behind her, _'Back to the drawing board.' _She thought.

_'It appears so.' _

_'You think he's that scared about tackling his own problems now?' _

_'Probably. He wants everything to be over with but he's afraid of how that'll turn out.' _

_'I'll just leave him alone, he'll talk when he has to and by now he knows he can trust me.' _

_'Letting him handle it alone for a while sounds like the wisest choice.' _

Tori nodded and sat down on her bed, her hands on her lap, tightening her grip on the material of her denim skirt. No matter how much she tried to deny it she really was worried about the boy, she was the main reason why she took the surgery and she was afraid that all the work she'd done before she took it was just going to disappear and he was going to change and get hurt. She didn't want him to get hurt, she couldn't imagine him getting hurt again, it would kill her to see that but there wasn't much that she could do.

A knock was heard on the door frame and Tori looked up in alarm, relaxing when the intruder was Kai. Tori raised an eyebrow at him, "Yes?"

Kai bit his lip and stepped into the room, "Are you mad?"

"No."

Kai nodded and sat down beside Tori, "I'm sorry."

Tori's face scrunched with a little bit of confusion, "For what?"

"I'm getting on your nerves."

"Not anymore than usual." Tori rested her head against his shoulder, laughing at her own comment.

"Which is still a lot." Kai reminded.

"Who cares?"

"I do maybe." Kai told her harshly, sounding harsher on himself than on her.

Tori smiled and looked up at him mischievously, "You don't count."

"That's a little unfair don't you think?"

Tori nodded, "Yeah, I admit it is but life isn't always fair and you got to realize I'm not doing this to be unfair on you, I'm just doing it because right now I know what's best." She whispered quietly, her clear brown eyes holding care and sympathy, that part didn't change at least.

Kai closed his eyes, sighing before opening them again and staring down at her. The boy put a hand under the girl's chin before gently setting his lips down on hers for only a few seconds before pulling away slowly. Tori smiled slightly, taking her time to wrap her arms around the boy's neck, kissing Kai softly and quickly. "You're adorable, you know that?" Tori whispered, kissing Kai's jaw line.

Kai tried to actually raise an eyebrow at that but that bit faltered when she hit a soft spot on his neck, "Adorable?" he asked her.

"Maybe 'adorable' is a little strong but I know you hate the word 'cute.""

"You mind teaching that to the rest of the team?"

"That might take a while, but if you demonstrate your reaction to that word it might take less time." Tori pulled away from him, a smile never leaving her face.

"Thanks."

"For?"

"Helping me." Kai answered quietly.

Tori smiled softly and placed a hand on Kai's forearm, tracing her fingers along the muscles of his arm. "Go get ready, we have somewhere to go." She told him.

"You aren't going to tell me where, are you?" Kai asked a bit frustrated.

"Nope, you'll wait and see just like the others." Tori giggled.

Kai sighed, shook his head with a smirk on his face before walking out of the room and to the bathroom to have a shower and change for the day ahead and Tori's surprise.

**---Two Hours Later--- **

Tori walked along the streets, holding tightly on Kai's hand as the three other teenagers followed close behind. "So where exactly are we going?" Max asked. That was probably the fifteenth time that one of the outer trio had asked where they were going and Max only tried his luck again in hopes that Tori would have forgotten that she was keeping it a secret or something of the sort.

Tori smiled, they just where never going to quite asking her. "We're going to the coffee shop where I used to work." She answered him.

"You're going to buy us lunch?!" Tyson asked, running up to her with some pleading in his eyes.

"That among other things."

Max, Tyson and Ray all glanced at each other in thought, just shrugging it off after a while as they figured that they'd figure it out sooner or later.

Kai pulled an arm around Tori's waist, not caring that the others saw him do that because he knew that now all of them knew about their relationship, even Tyson. He moved closer to her and whispered quietly in her ear, "You're going to sing, aren't you?" he smirked, finally figuring it out.

Tori nodded curtly, "I need to prove to myself I can still sing."

"So you're singing in front of them too?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I never said anything against it." Kai shrugged, letting go of her.

They all arrived at the café in little timing and Tori told the curious teenagers to go to sit a table upfront and to order what they wanted as all was on her for the day. Tori disappeared behind the counter talking to a friend of hers and a past co-worker. Ten minutes past much faster than expected and Tori walked up onto the stage, a bit shy but happy that there weren't too many people in the café at the time. She waited patiently for a second for the music to start up and all the team looked at each other before looking up at Tori enthusiastically when Tori began to sing, happily and wonderfully as always.

_"__"gomen" ne nante  
Kao shite minaide  
Kanashimi de  
Aruki-kata sae wasureru hodo yo  
Aenai yoru wa  
Dare ga issho na no?  
Kiss! kiss! ai no sei ne  
Bang! bang!  
Heart ana ga aita _

Namida wa misetari shinai  
Jibun no naka no tatakai dakara  
All right

Egao dake ja nai koi wo  
Itami wo koete-mamori-nuku no  
Anata no koto omou to  
Attakaku naru no  
('cause anytime)  
Sore dake wo  
(rainbow in my soul)  
Shinjiteru i'll be here

Itsuka wa dareka ga  
Kizutsukisoo demo  
(if you want me)  
Kokoro (i'll just be here)  
Tomaranai (every night)  
I can cry if i want to  
(cry if i want to)  
I can cry like a heavy rain  
(cry like a heavy rain)  
Soba ni itai dakedo

Egao dake ja nai koi wo  
Itami wo koete-mamori-nuku no  
Anata no koto omou to  
Attakaku naru no  
('cause anytime)  
Sore dake wo  
(rainbow in my soul)  
Shinjiteru i'll be there  
All right  
Woo!"

It was more than clear that Tori had sung that song for Kai and the teenage boy was caught between nudges in the ribs and shoulder by both Tyson and Max who sat by his side. Kai supressed the furious blush that was creaping onto his face from the attention he was getting. Tori was smiling all the way through, happy that she got a bit of a reaction from him and her music. Once done with that song she moved on to a second one, one that was going out to her best friends, the friends that got her to change her mind about the surgery, her first best group of friends.

"dear my friend  
Hashiritsuzukete kita  
with my dream  
Sagashitsuzukete kita  
Furikaeru HIMA mo nai everyday  
Kono deai wa guuzen ja nai  
Oshiete ano namida no wake wo  
Hajimete kimi ga tsuita uso wo  
Kakikeshita amaoto no melody  
Mawaritsuzukeru merry-go-round  
ARUBAMU ni tojikometa  
SEPIA iro no awai kimochi  
Yomigaeru  
Meguriau kiseki to  
(miracle power)  
Kakegae no nai toki wo  
(special time forever)  
Zenbu taisetsu ni shite  
Ikite yukeru  
Ikusen no omoi  
(thousand words)  
Yozora ni kiete yuku  
(twinkle star forever)  
Ima shika dekinai koto  
Yaritogetai  
I wanna be with you.  
My best friend

for myself  
Ichido kiri no jinsei  
go my way  
Bouken datte shitai  
Kurikaesu  
Deai to wakare ni  
Hitoribotchi no yo ga akeru  
Yawaraka na kaze no naka  
Itumo onaji kimi no egao  
Mabushikute  
Betsubetsu no michi wo  
(winding road)  
Arukihajimete mo  
(special time forever)  
Kokoro no oku no dokoka  
Tsunagatteru  
Mahou no kotoba ga  
(miracle words)  
Yozora wo kakete yuku  
(twinkle star forever)  
Hoshi yori hikaru fantasy  
Todoketai yo  
I wanna get back here.  
My best friend

Yuujou tte mono ni  
Terete waratte ita  
Arigato kimi ga kureta  
Subarashii dream

Meguriau kiseki to  
(miracle power)  
Kakegae no nai toki wo  
(special time forever)  
Zenbu taisetsu ni shite  
Ikite yukeru  
Ikusen no omoi  
(thousand words)  
Yozora ni kiete yuku  
(twinkle star forever)  
Ima shika dekinai koto  
Yaritogetai  
I wanna be with you.  
My best friend  
(I'm proud of you)  
Zutto issho ni  
(feel my heart)  
(please, please, please)  
(my best friend)"

That was it. Tori was close to a break down, a good one. She'd passed her own test of going through the surgery alone, she managed to prove to herself she could still sing like she used to, she was sure that her personality remained the same, her friends where happy with her around, they knew that she cared about them and thing seemed so perfect at the last minute. She jumped off the stage and stood in front of her team, her hands behind her back as she bit down on her lip lightly. "So? How was I?" she asked them, looking for an honest opinion.

"Amazing!" Max lunged forward happily, grabbing the girl in a tight hug.

"Excellent." Tyson told her, hugging her too.

Tori had tears in her eyes and once she pulled herself away from the other two she worked on wiping away the tears from her cheeks, a sweet smile on her face. "Are you okay?" Ray asked, almost laughing at Tori's sudden display of emotion.

"Fine." Tori smiled up at him. Taking a look around at her friends, her heart was beating fast, she was happy to be there with them and she loved the feeling of being around them, all they were was a positive energy one that a lot of people needed in their lives.

Tori sat down at the table as did the others and Kai leaned next to her so that she could hear him whisper to her, "Are you happy now?" he asked her.

Tori smiled at his words and turned to him, "Very." She answered.

**---That Night- 10pm--- **

Four teenagers stood in the sea water under the moonlight, splashing and ducking each other in the water. Of the five, one remained dry, sitting on the brick wall on the sand, staring on at the humourous and enjoyable scene. A part of him wanted to just get up and leave them alone, thinking that that wasn't his place to be at the time. Another part wished he could join them there to relax for a while, take things easy for once but to him he thought that time of doing 'childish' things was up and that it wasn't something he could do. So he just sat there on the beach, watching his friends have the time of their lives, something he really didn't mind doing.

It was a fair fight, two against two, Ray and Tyson against Tori and Max. Tori was laughing so hard her sides where aching but she couldn't stop messing about and splashing water at the others, she just enjoyed being a kid sometimes and it couldn't be helped, having fun was just something she did. They'd all been going on with the water fight for almost two hours, sometimes roatating team players and sometimes just pretending to have a break to sneak up on each other so the game never really ended. Tori laughed while trying to gasp for air, walking up onto the beach and turned to face the water, falling back on her behind while coughing up the salted water. "Break, please." She told them, laughing.

The others all fell onto the sand beside her in exhaustion, "We look crazy." Ray whispered.

"Not any more crazy than usual." Tori told him.

"She can't even breathe properly and she's still making fun of us." Max laughed, falling back to lie down on the sand.

"Nothing's changed, guys." Tori told them, she kept her eyes on the dark sky above her, all the white stars sparkling in the distance, a sight she always enjoyed seeing but someone was missing and she couldn't enjoy it fully unless he was there with her.

"That's always good." Ray told her.

"We wouldn't change you for the world. Although we wish you'd stop being so hard on us in training."

"Keep dreaming, my dear." Tori patted him on the shoulder as she stood up, "I'll be back in a minute." She turned and ran over to the wall at the back of the beach, well as fast as she possibly could while wearing drenched clothing. "Hey, Kai." She greeted.

"Having fun?" Kai asked.

Tori took her cold hands and gently taking Kai's in hers, she nodded and kept her eyes locked with his, "It would be more fun if you were there with us."

"I'm fine here, thanks." Kai took his hands away from Tori's and continued to stare on at her in a dull way.

Tori moved over to the wall, turned her back against it and placed her hands onto the wall, jumping once and pulling herself up onto the wall. "Come join us." She told him, then seeing that it didn't affect him at all and decided to add something else, "Or I'll drag you there."

Kai looked to his right, raising an eyebrow at the girl, "You don't have the strength to do that." He informed her.

Tori shrugged slightly and replied, "I don't have the tumour anymore so I've got nothing stopping me from trying."

Kai just grunted and turned back to staring ahead where the others where by the water, not saying another word to Tori for a few minutes. Tori in the meantime just kept glancing at him, then finally taking in that he wasn't going to get up to go next to the others anytime soon. She stood on the wall and jumped on the other side of it, then standing up behind Kai before raising her leg and kicking him off it and pushing him to stand on the sand.

Once he landed, Kai turned back to look at Tori, raising an eyebrow at her when she smiled and batted her eyelashes inoccently when it was clear the girl was anything but innocent. He watched as Tori jumped over the wall again and then grabbed his hand, "Come on." She tried to drag him but Kai wouldn't move again. Tori let go, turned to him pouting as she put her hands together as though she were praying, "Please." She begged.

"Can't you just leave me out of it for once?" Kai leaned back against the wall as he spoke.

Tori heard how serious Kai was about that, something in him really didn't want him to be near the team or maybe he just didn't allow himself. "You were alone since you were a kid and now that you can be with people that care about you I don't want to leave you by yourself, you deserve better than that."

"No I don't." Kai whispered, almost choking.

"Why are you going back to self-loathing all of a sudden?" Tori stepped closer, a worried but confused and afraid look on her features. Kai didn't give her any answer, didn't even acknowledge her for a second longer, he just jumped back onto the wall and sat there, staring off to his left where he could avoid Tori's gaze. That was, until she stepped in the way and placed a hand on his cheek to keep him from turning his head, "Can't you talk to me about it?" she asked him quietly. Again, Kai ignored her again and just stared more at her stomach because he couldn't look at her face and she was standing in his way.

Tori sighed and let go of him slowly, taking a step back, "I'll be near the others if you want to join us." She told him, no answer, she turned and left the boy alone again.

**---Midnight--- **

Tori walked into her bedroom, jumping onto her bed swiftly while laughing, lying down on her stomach sprawled across the bed. Kai walked into the bedroom, dumping his jacket on the chair by the door, looking on strangely at Tori's form. "You're still hyper?" He asked her.

Tori turned onto her back and smiled, "Kinda." She laughed.

Kai sighed, walking into Tori's bathroom and coming back to the bedroom with a towel and her nightgown and dumped them on her stomach. "Get dressed before you end up ill." He told her.

"Yes, captain." Tori saluted, sitting up. She got up and left the clothes and towel on her bed, then began undressing slowly. Her black shirt was the first thing off, leaving her with only her bra to cover her top half as she dried off her stomach, shoulders and back. Kai had seen her undress and turned away from her, a creepy red blush sneaking its way onto his cheeks to go with the boiling hot blood. Tori pulled on her nightgown, then sat on the bed and pulled off her jeans from underneath, dumping the soaking clothing on the ground before dabbing the towel at her soaked skin.

Tori looked up, seeing Kai turned away from her, fidgeting with his beyblade that was on the dressing table. She laughed quietly and turned back to wiping the water off, "You didn't have to turn away." She informed him.

Kai shifted uncomfortably and turned round again to look at her. She was dressed again, thankfully so he went back to sitting next to her. Tori dumped the towel onto the pile of clothes, then she reached over to Kai, pulling him closer to her so that their faces where just inches apart and they liked it that way because it felt comforting to be so close to someone.

Tori smiled and moved closer to him, kissing his lips softly, the both feeling like they were kissing rose petals as to how soft the kiss was. The kiss was sweet and tender, loving and caring, short but breath-taking, a kiss that made both teenagers turn bright red since despite their trust with each other, shyness was shyness and sometimes there was nothing you could do about it. Once the two had moved away from each other, Tori rested her head against Kai's shoulder while the older boy had his arms wrapped around the thin girl's waist. "Are you better now?" Tori whispered quietly.

"There was nothing wrong with me in the first place."

"Wow you're a good liar."

"A couple of years of practice and you get good at it."

"I see that."

"But it's fine, you know? It's nothing…" Kai started quietly.

"New?" Tori asked, looking up at him with sweet eyes, "It's not good that you're so used to feeling that way…because then it means that it's been happening for a long time."

"But it has happened for a long time, we both know it and we're not denying it either."

"I'm not denying it but it's not right that you've gotten so used to all of this…it's a horrible thing to get used to."

"It makes no difference." Kai muttered.

Tori slowly let go of Kai and turned to lie back against the pillows, staring down at her hands that lay in her lap. "You did nothing wrong, you suffered and the whole world went on like you weren't there suffering when it was as clear as day, it's not fair." She whispered sadly.

"Well life isn't always fair, is it?"

"Clearly it isn't."

Kai took a deep breathe and moved a hand out in front of him, gently caressing Tori's cheek, "You're tired, get some sleep." Kai left the room, leaving Tori alone with her own thoughts, suddenly drained of her hyperness by the more seriousness preying on her mind. The auburn-haired girl got under the covers, warming up to the soft material that sheilded her frail body from the summer breeze that circled the bedroom. She heard Kai walk back into the room, in the dark not seeing him but feeling him slide into the space beside her in the bed. Tori scooted closer to him and kept a hand on his shoulder as she almost always did, stroking the skin softly with the back of her fingers. "Back when I was in hospital…"She started quietly, "I spoke to a doctor, I was looking for the right doctor who could help with all this stress and the things you're going through and…I found one."

"You didn't have to do that."

"No. I wanted to, to help."

"Still."

"You think you could give it a shot?"

"I'm not going to know what's going to happen unless I try, right?"

"Right."

"So I'll give it a shot."

Tori smiled in the darkness and Kai could tell that she was happy about his answer, "Thanks, Kai." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and rested her head back on her pillow.

Kai smirked slightly, "I just don't want to have to burn in hell for the rest of my life." He extended his arm over Tori's stomach and began to let tiredness take him over, "Now get some sleep." He whispered finally to her.

"Good idea." Tori whispered, closing her eyes and dozing off to sleep only minutes later.

**A/N: That's another chapter done. So what did you think? Sorry if it was a little boring but I'm coming close to the end of the fic, I have the right to make it a little boring //laughs// Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and tell me what you think and I'll get working on next chapter soon enough. **

**Also, this chapter had two songs that Tori had sung at the café. The first song was called 'Kiss!Kiss!Bang!Bang!' by Komatsu Ayaka. Here's the translation to it, sadly this song is one I had to translate without the help of a translator and did it by myself and one verse was one that I couldn't translate well so I left it out of this chapter but to the point it was merely a repition of an earlier verse and you'll see that if you just listen to the song: **

**_I'm sorry for hiding my face in my sadness, _**

**_I even forgot the way to walk. _**

**_The night is lonely, who will be there with me? _**

**_Kiss! Kiss! Because of love! _**

**_Bang!Bang! There's a hole in my heart. _**

**_Tears…I'm not going to show them. _**

**_Because inside me…there's a battle…alright. _**

****

**_A love that's not all about smiles _**

**_Surpass the pain. Protect to the very end. _**

**_When I think about you… _**

**_(Cause anytime) _**

**_I feel more warm now…just that _**

**_(Rainbow in my soul) _**

**_I want to keep believing…I'll be here. _**

****

**_Sometimes people _**

**_Seem like their hurt hearts will never heal _**

**_(If you want me to…I'll just be here…every night) _**

**_I can cry if I want to _**

**_(Cry if I want to) _**

**_I can cry like a heavy rain _**

**_(Cry like a heavy rain) _**

**_I just want you by my side. _**

****

**_A love that's not all about smiles _**

**_Surpass the pain. Protect to the very end. _**

**_When I think about you _**

**_(cause anytime) _**

**_I'm filled with a warmth…I just want to believe in that _**

**_(Cause anytime) _**

**_I'll be here! _**

**_Alright! _**

**_Woo! _**

****

**Nice song, right? I heard it and thought that it really fit Tori and Kai well so I thought I'd include it in the chapter. On with the next song, the second song was called, 'Friend' by the female actresses of PGSM; Sawai Miyuu, Kitagawa Keiko, Hama Chisaki, Azama Myuu(Mew) and Komatsu Ayaka. Here's the translation to that song: **

**_Dear my friend  
I kept running here  
With my dream  
I kept searching for here  
With no time to look back every day  
Our meeting isn't by chance  
Tell me the reason for those tears  
The first lie you told  
Erased by the melody of the falling rain  
The merry-go-round keeps turning  
The fleeting sepia feelings  
Sealed up in a photo album  
Come back to me  
The miracle of our meeting and  
(miracle power)  
That irreplaceable time  
(special time forever)  
I treasure them all  
I can go on with life  
Thousands of emotions  
(thousand words)  
Vanish into the night sky  
(twinkle star forever)  
I want to complete the things  
We can only do now  
I wanna be with you.  
My best friend _**

**_For myself  
We only get one life  
Go my way  
I want to have adventures, too  
Doing it over again  
With meetings and partings  
The nights of solitude end  
Inside the gentle winds  
Your smiling face is always the same  
Radiant  
Even if we start to walk down  
(winding road)  
Separate roads  
(special time forever)  
Somewhere deep inside  
We're connected  
The magic words  
(miracle words)  
Race across the night sky  
(twinkle star forever)  
I want to send a fantasy  
Shining from the stars  
I wanna get back here.  
My best friend _**

**_I was smiling, shy of  
This thing called friendship  
Thanks for giving me  
A wonderful dream _**

**_The miracle of our meeting and  
(miracle power)  
That irreplaceable time  
(special time forever)  
I treasure them all  
I can go on with life  
Thousands of emotions  
(thousand words)  
Vanish into the night sky  
(twinkle star forever)  
I want to complete the things  
We can only do now  
I wanna be with you.  
My best friend  
(I'm proud of you)  
Together forever  
(feel my heart)  
(please, please, please)  
(my best friend) _**

****

**So that's pretty much all I have to say for this chapter. I'm still sorting out some kinks of the sequel I have planned so its not definate yet that there'll be a sequel, have patience but I'm trying to work on this fic and plan the sequel so have patience. Thanks for reading and please review, I only got 2 reviews last chapter which was a bit disappointing considering I usually get about 8 so I hoped to do better on this chapter. So please review and I'll work on next chapter tomorrow evening! **

**//Waves// **


	28. Love And Lust, there's a difference!

**A/N: **Alrighty, it's the first time in ages that I'm leaving an authors note at the top of the chapter but I have a reason for it this time. In this chapter you're going to read some stuff that happens between Kai and Tori. I just wanted to tell you that there's nothing in there to skip since if there's something like a lemon I would warn you from before but there isn't in this chapter, even though it looks like there will be. Also, there's a bit on the physical relationship between Tori and Kai and maybe it seems like a stupid thing to read but there are so many writers out there that just write romance stories and lemons and stuff like that but they don't write about other things but you'll see what I mean, if you don't like it just say so but I just thought that I'd try something new, something not everyone writes, it's a risk but I don't mind taking a risk for once. So I hope you enjoy the chapter, forgive me if it's short but the computer and internet was down for a couple of days and I couldn't write.

**__**

**_Chapter 28 _**

**__**

Tori lay in the bath filled with hot water, bubbles floating about on the water and on her pale skin. She smiled happily, moving her feet under the tap of running warm water, smiling as she blew bubbles into the air. Just by sitting back in the bath she was already up to her neck in water. She'd woken up late, finding Kai had gone out for a walk and that left her alone long enough for her to watch a short TV show while eating breakfast and have a relaxing bath.

She'd been in the bath for just over twenty minutes and was quite enjoying the relaxation which she didn't always get on other days. Being in the hospital for weeks had made her tense, particularly because she didn't have much to herself. Her days where almost all the same there; lying on a plain and horrid looking bed, in a room that didn't look in the least bit comforting to a person, she was usually attached to wires and tubes, all of the contents of each only draining her of all her physical and emotional energy, her pain. When she was good enough to be taken off those machines and medications, she still wasn't alone for very long since doctors would always be checking up on her. And when she'd go to have a shower and she'd try to concentrate on little things, like the sound of the water falling, or the soothing warm water running along her skin, a nurse would knock on her door to ask if she was okay in there.

She was always perfectly fine but Tori had been a regular at hospitals, wherever she was and whatever country she was in so doctors where always watching her like a hawk, especially since they'd all found it a bit…odd that a girl so young was ready to refuse something that could save her life.

Ever since she got out of the hospital it had all been a rush, an adrenaline rush. She was excited to be out and back with her friends and Kai, hard to believe but she missed the little things that had been introduced to her life like the job of waking Tyson up in the morning. That was something she never did before but it was a challenge and she found it fun to do every morning, especially since Max and her had found terribly yet effective ways of waking Tyson. It was all just plain, innocent fun that she never used to have when she was travelling with her parents.

So now that the adrenaline rush was over, Tori felt like she was back to normal and was able to go back to feeling laid back and not so troubled about her own health, not that she was much in the first place. Even though the adrenaline rush had passed, the rush she had would Kai wasn't about to fade anytime soon. The two really cared about each other, a lot and enough to be there for each other for anything and that was a great feeling that Tori liked to impose on Kai. She currently had a few minutes to relax on her own for a while though and she loved that because with Kai she didn't always get that chance, since when she was relaxing with him it was a different kind of relaxation.

The good soaking in the bath was a real treat for Tori since for once she got to feel alive and didn't really have to worry about the shy boy that usually sat beside her. When she was with Kai she'd usually be worrying about something, like his health or his problems, what she was going to say to him, how she was going to comfort him, how she was going to get him to talk to her. It was all a hard process. Don't just sit there and think that everything she said to him was like a spur of the moment thing. No way, she'd put a lot of thought into things before hand. That's why she'd invaded Kai's privacy by reading those medical and report files. She wanted to know beforehand what she was up against so that she didn't possibly ruin things by saying something that could make him feel worse. Tori was far from perfect. There where countless times she'd made a mess of things, like telling Kai the wrong things, or ordering him around too much when deep down inside she knew that she shouldn't have been pushing him so hard. Other times she just got too close when it was best to have left him alone, spending the night away from him when it suited the situation, not shutting up when she could see he clearly wasn't in the mood to argue.

Faults like those where ones that could go on forever because there was no limited amount as to how many times she'd screwed up on a situation but she wasn't perfect, she won some arguments and lost some others, it was just the way it was. She spent days trying to come up with mental lists of things to say and conversations that she shouldn't touch but there where times those conversations where brought up anyway. They always argued about something, despite her best efforts to avoid major arguments with him so some where completely out of her hands when they happened. Still, she put a lot of thought into everything that she did and said to him, countless hours, sleepless nights; it's what she thought about and dreamt about, only helping him.

So after all that, a nice hot bath was really just a treat, or more like a reward for all she'd done. Of course, all good things must come to an end. Tori switched off the running water, relaxed for a few more minutes as she couldn't bring herself to get out of the warm water, even though she knew that she should be getting out soon and that it wasn't wise to be in the heat for so long. She pulled the plug and picked up the towel that was on the floor by the bath, standing up and wrapping her body tightly in the soft fabric.

She sat down on the side of the bathtub as it was drained of the water. Tori reached forward and pulled her undergarments off the counter and slowly pulled on both her underwear and bra on, keeping the towel around her until she found enough strength in her swirling head to put on the rest of her clothes. After only a minute she was dressed and she hurried out of the steaming bathroom into the cooler air of her bedroom.

Tori stopped in the doorway, "I didn't know you were back." She commented once she saw Kai sitting on her bed.

"Just got here." Kai told her.

"That explains it." Tori muttered, sitting next to him for a minute of silence. Tori flicked her wrist, turning her silver watch and looking at the time before standing up again, "What do you want for lunch?"

"I actually already ate." Kai smirked up at her.

Tori's eyes widened as she looked down at him, crystal brown eyes holding puzzlement, "Eh?!"

"I already ate." Kai repeated casually, a smirk on his face from watching with amusement the shock on his girlfriend's pale face.

Tori rushed back to sitting down again, grabbing Kai's arm hurriedly, "What on Earth possessed you to do that?" she smiled, happiness written all over her.

"Possessed me? Come on, I'm not _that_ bad." Kai told her, sounding just a bit upset that Tori didn't think that highly of him. Tori raised an eyebrow at him, one that asked him if he really believed what he was saying, "Alright I get it, its bad but I was out, got hungry and I figured that if I'm going to try to sort things out I could start out by eating right." He told her.

Tori's eyes widened yet again and she blinked twice before hitting his shoulder, "What the hell changed because I really wish it'd happened sooner?"

Kai laughed quietly and placed his hands on her bare shoulders, keeping her close to him, "Just don't ask questions and be grateful." He whispered, that smile of amusement not leaving his features.

"No catches?" Tori asked.

"None."

Tori smiled at his answer and once seeing how serious he actually was she leaned closer to kiss him, carefully and softly but passionately as always. While kissing, Kai smiled into the kiss once running his fingers along Tori's arm and the side of her stomach, Tori's hand roaming over Kai's neck and the back of his head. The touch on her side was ticklish and she smiled and flinched to the side on instinct, then crawling into the other boy's lap to get closer to him. "I think your dad is going to kill me." Kai whispered through breaths once he slowly pulled his lips away from the girl's.

Tori smiled and just undid the first button of her white tank shirt, "And I just got dressed a few minutes ago and I'm getting undressed now."

"What else is new?" Kai asked sarcastically.

Tori rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Just shut up." She muttered. She leaned forward again, kissing Kai with the usual passion and fire the two had when they were with each other and the two loved that they could have that much care for one another, a relationship they never had with other people. Keeping that desire expression on his cold look Kai took Tori's chin which was gently set on one hand and he suddenly rounded her waist with the other, pressing her thin and very fragile body against his, always carefully considering he knew that the girl was actually still physically weak from when she was plagued by the tumor, even if she refused to admit to her weaknesses.

She shut her eyes and held them closed as she felt the Russian cold lips she had always wanted to kiss on hers. Kai's eyes were still opened, but closed when he slid his tongue on her lower lip and urged to get in. Although, Tori didn't have to think things twice about that, or about anything that was happening at the time. She opened her mouth and let her tongue mix with Kai's, at the same time her hands were going up and rounding against the older boy's neck, running her delicately thin fingers through strands of hair. Because of the rush of blood on both of their halves, in under minutes Tori's shirt was completely gone, on the floor by the bed beneath Kai and Tori's forms.

This was most probably the closest the two had ever actually gotten to each other. Really and truly neither of them where actually even certain if they were ready for sex but almost every time the two had ever come close to doing anything of the sort they were always interrupted. Either Tori would look faint and Kai would stop no matter what Tori said about her condition, or Denzelle would walk in, or Dranzer would interrupt Kai and tell him he shouldn't be doing it or the phone wouldn't stop ringing, or Tori's family came over or even the team coming over to visit their two ill leaders and Tori and Kai would have to part and fix themselves up to go unnoticed to the world around them. Not to mention that the two teenagers weren't the most normal of all teenagers, Tori was physically ill while Kai had emotional issues that kept him from trusting so the two were always careful with each other in order to be certain that the other wasn't hurt or upset about what was going on. Some people think the second they hear that two teenagers had sex they take it as a big deal, that these two teenagers are doing it more out of lust and hormones than anything else but this was different. The two weren't perfect but when it came to each other they were always trying their best to keep the other safe and cared for, even at a time like this.

Whether the sex happened or not that day was the last thing on both their minds, the real reason they were doing it was to be closer to each other, to get to know the other, to fully trust and learn about the other person that they loved so much. True it was irritating when the two where interrupted but they didn't find it irritating because they lusted after each other and couldn't find time alone, it was just about being close to each other and not being able to learn about the other without being interrupted by some stupid things.

You'd think of it as almost impossible that the two people that argued for almost every single minute in the first few months of knowing each other would end up helping each other then sharing a bed and making out with each other in the bedroom, panting heavily, both shirtless with hands roaming over the others skin. Kai lay back on the bed; Tori lay directly on top of him, feeling Kai breathing warmly against her neck, feeling the warm breath tickling the senses of her porcelain skin. Little butterfly kisses where traced along Tori's jaw line, tracing down to her neck, earning a few quiet moans before the two were…yes, interrupted again.

"Mistress…I need your help." Denzelle called quietly from the other side of the bedroom door.

"I'm busy, I'll be there soon." Tori answered, closing her eyes for a moment, feeling bad about ditching Denzelle, especially when she heard Denzelle walk away. She rolled off Kai and sighed before turning to look at the boy again; "We have to stop right?" she smiled lightly.

Kai smiled at the bit of frustration in her eyes but nodded anyway, "Yeah so go help her out."

"Yeah." Tori dropped her hand on the bed with some frustration before she pushed herself off the bed and walked out of the bedroom in silence. She crept into the living room where she knew that Denzelle was. She stood in the doorway, looking on a little confusedly and upset that the girl looked so upset. Denzelle had been sitting forward on the sofa, clutching tightly at her arm as she stared on at the ground. "Last I heard you were going out for a walk, what happened?" Tori sat down on the sofa opposite Denzelle, trying to make conversation with the half-mortal.

"People are rude." Denzelle whispered, almost sounding…spiteful? Although that was something you didn't hear coming from her everyday so it was definitely a new tune to hear from such a gentle girl.

Tori raised her eyebrows at Denzelle, almost looking hurt at the same time in a sarcastic way, "And I just came to help."

"Not you." Denzelle smiled lightly up at her kind Mistress.

Tori got up, smiling as she jumped onto the empty space on the sofa beside Denzelle, wrapping an arm over her shoulders, "Don't worry, I know." She laughed. "So what happened?"

Denzelle pouted and rested her head against her Mistress' shoulder, thinking back to her days. So basically while Tori had been in hospital she'd felt bad that she went back on her promise towards Denzelle that she was going to die. One of Tori's reasons for not wanting to take the surgery was to be able to let Denzelle have her own life to live so when Tori ended up taking the surgery she felt horrible that she'd gone back on something that Denzelle had wanted, even if Denzelle said she didn't care about living a regular life.

So Tori decided on something else. She told Denzelle that she could still live a life; one that was a bit more restricted considering Denzelle only had a specific amount of energy to use while out of her blade. So this was one of Denzelle's first days of trying out a life of her own, or as well as she could get that to turn out. The morning was fun; Tori had let her borrow some of her clothes from the wardrobe so it was just fun to be…human or just do things that could make her feel human. There wasn't much on her mind that she wanted to do, she just wanted to get out of the house for a while, she told Tori she was going out and she left for a long walk so that she could make things up as she went along.

"Not much happened. Don't worry about it."

"Don't try to act like Kai." Tori glared almost jokingly at her.

"I'm not, I just tripped and some people were being…cruel." Denzelle moved her hand off her arm, showing Tori the small bruise and cut that was on there.

"Yes well a lot of people are like that and you've been following me around for the past sixteen or so years, you should know that some people are like that."

"I knew but it's different when it's me." Denzelle whispered.

Tori laughed, resting against Denzelle, "It's like the easy way out." She smiled. "Go get that cleaned up and we'll go out for ice-cream." She ordered quietly.

Denzelle lifted her head off Tori's shoulder, looking on rather happily towards her Mistress, "Really?" she asked hopefully. Tori nodded hurriedly, looking down at Denzelle as always. "You're not busy?" she asked carefully.

"Not anymore."

Denzelle smiled and rushed up, running out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. Tori laughed at the girl's enthusiasm, happy that in a way she could make some of her own memories with the girl and now that she actually had time to make memories with people. She got off the sofa and walked down the hall to her bedroom where Kai still was, "You ok there sunshine?" Tori asked, closing the door behind her.

Kai had been lying back on the bed and then glanced up at the girl, "Yeah, fine." He answered casually. "Is Denzelle alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. I told her we'd go out for ice-cream; do you want to join us?"

"You two need to spend more time alone together so I'm going to go check on the others soon."

"You aren't going to kill them with training are you?" Tori glared at him questioningly.

"Nothing's planned today." Kai answered her, a smirk on his face.

"Just don't be too hard on them." Tori laughed as she shook her head.

"I'll try."

"No you won't!" Tori exclaimed, sitting down beside him, nothing new about the smile on her face.

"Of course not." Kai shrugged, smirking as he sat back up.

"I'm really starting to think you and I are cursed or something." Tori dropped her head against Kai's shoulder as she spoke.

"Because we can't have some time alone? I think so too but it could always be worse."

Tori nodded hurriedly in a quick agreement, "Yeah. Let's not jinx it."

"That sounds like the smartest thing you've said all day."

Tori lifted her head and looked at him with a look of annoyance, "I did say some other smart things today but sadly they were all muffled by your lips." She pointed out to him, matter-of-factly.

"Sounds fair."

"I'll bet you find that fair, it's not something you can complain about."

Kai started, "I…"

"You wouldn't dare try." Tori glared, standing up.

"Yeah, I'll take my stupid comments with me to the Dojo, I'll see you later." Kai gave Tori a really quick kiss on the cheek and walked out the bedroom door, nodding with a smile at Denzelle who'd just walked out of the bathroom as he walked by her.

Tori walked out into the hall where Denzelle walked up to her, Tori smiled and swung an arm over Denzelle's shoulders, smiling happily as the two walked down the hall to the door that Kai had just exited from. "Come on, we're going to act like sisters for the rest of the day." Tori told her as she opened the door.

Denzelle smiled and looked at Tori, raising a delicate eyebrow at the girl, "We're going to argue all day?"

Tori thought for a second as she began making her way down the stairs, "I'm not sure yet but I guarantee you that whatever happens it won't be boring."

"It rarely ever is." Denzelle ran after her Mistress down the stairs, the two girl's chasing after each other till they got down onto the street.

"So what is it you want to do, sunshine?" Tori asked, latching her arm onto Denzelle's as they walked down the street.

"I don't know."

"Well come on, you've been waiting to be human for the past hundred years or so and now that you have a Mistress who's willing to help you act human you might as well take advantage of it. I'm sure you have something in mind that we haven't done before."

"I…don't know."

"How about…shopping?"

Denzelle looked a bit upset and shifted uncomfortably, "I don't have money, remember?"

"I do though, remember that?"

"But I can't do that."

"Yeah you can, for all the times you protected me, looked after me, nursed me back to health, for cheering me up when I was upset and everything you've done for me. And before you start with the 'But's' I'm just going to ignore them so you can save your breath."

"Fine." Denzelle pouted just slightly.

Tori smiled and glanced over at Denzelle while they kept on walking, "It sucks not to have an opinion huh?"

"Definitely."

"Now you know how I feel." Tori nudged.

Denzelle sighed, still pouting, upset yet cutely at the same time, "Now I feel really sorry for the way I've treated you over the years."

"That sounds good to me." Tori laughed.

"I'm glad you're getting something good out of it because to me it feels horrible."

"Life's a bitch and then you die."

"Speak for yourself." Denzelle glared at her.

**---That Night- 9:00pm--- **

Kai lay on the sofa on his stomach, supporting himself on his elbows while reading a book when he heard the laughing from just outside the apartment door. He closed the book, leaving his thumb on the page he'd been reading as he listened cautiously until Tori and Denzelle opened the door and walked into the apartment. Kai turned over and sat up on seeing the girl's walk in, "Hey, where have you two been?" he asked them.

Denzelle and Tori smiled at each other and then turned back to looking at Kai, holding up all the shopping bags that where gripped tightly in their hands and hanging off their arms. "Shopping spree!" they replied in unison.

Kai grit his teeth lightly, taking a sharp breath through them as he looked on with just some fear on his face, "That's terrifying."

"Shopping isn't that bad!" Denzelle told him, sitting down and letting go of the bags, rubbing her hands in hope of getting some feeling back into the reddening skin.

"The shopping isn't what I'm afraid of. I'm just afraid of how alike you two have gotten in a couple of hours."

"It's not that bad." Tori told him, following Denzelle's same example before sitting back on the sofa.

"You'll see how bad it actually is eventually." Kai informed her.

Tori rolled her eyes and changed subject, "So off that lovely topic, what have you been up to today?"

"Tortured the team for a couple of hours, came home, ate, slept and did some reading."

Tori made a fake gasp, "You stayed out of trouble? You really are possessed." She said hurriedly, earning a laugh from the bit-beast beside her on the sofa.

Kai stood up, taking Tori's face in his hands before getting really close to her, "You're so funny." He said sarcastically with an irritated smile on his face, letting go of her cheeks and walking to the kitchen.

"I can't help it." Tori told him.

"Whatever you say."

"You're not really going to hold it against her are you?" Denzelle asked, followed by a yawn of exhaustion.

"Maybe I will."

Denzelle would have spoken but instead she shook her head slightly and moved to rest her head on her Mistress' lap, obviously the day's activities exhausting her and draining her of what was left of her life's oxygen. "Go and get some rest, I'll finish things up with Kai." Tori whispered quietly. Denzelle sat up slowly, getting off the sofa and picking up all her things, carrying them to the bedroom where she could leave them so she could get herself some more rest.

Once Tori was sure that Denzelle had put her things in the bedroom, she got off the sofa and quietly stepped into the kitchen. Kai was leaning with his stomach pressed against the counter edge, a mug of coffee in his hands like he always did while thinking. If Tori didn't see Kai having coffee at least twice a day than she saw it as irregular, she thought of it as some brain drink for Kai, considering she'd see what Kai was like without coffee when he woke up in the morning and to put it simply, it just wasn't a pretty sight.

Tori turned her back to the empty space on the counter beside Kai, placing her hands on the counter, pushing herself up with her feet and pulling herself up onto the counter before sitting there staring on at the boy. "You amaze me as to how hard you try." She whispered, only loud enough for him to hear her. She opened her arms just slightly, leaning closer towards him, "Come here, if not for you then for me." She whispered.

Kai put the mug of coffee back down on the counter, scooting over to her before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug, resting his chin on her shoulder. Steady quiet breaths passed his lips as he remained in that same position for a few moments of silence, a shining and glistening look in his hard crimson eyes which made him looked strong but showed some of his vulnerability. The two slowly pulled away from each other and Kai took a careful step back. Tori reached out in front of her, running her thumb under Kai's eyes in search for the dampness of a tear, finding none which made her smile, "You're alright." She told him.

Kai didn't say another word, just moved back to where he was before, leaning against the counter and sipping the warm coffee despite the heat that was radiating through the balcony door of the living room and the intense heat he was feeling on his skin.

Tori slid something out of her back pocket, a small white card that she handed to him. Kai looked up at her with much confusion written on his face before he turned back down to looking at the card before he decided to take it and have a look for himself of what it was. "It's the doctor's card, the appointment is tomorrow afternoon, and I think it'd do you some good if you went." Tori told him quietly.

No audible answer was heard from Kai on Tori's behalf, even though he had muttered an even quieter, "Sure." While he put the card in his pocket for later. Kai finished up his coffee while Tori kept a close eye on him the whole time, looking on sympathetically, at the same time dwelling on the amount of stress Kai must be under already. She watched as Kai left the mug in the sink, stood in front of her, gave her a quick peck on the lips and muttered, "Good night." Before he left the room to go to bed.

Tori sighed, _'I wish it didn't have to be so hard on him.' _Just by even thinking that much her head was aching already, maybe she shouldn't have been out all day and should have relaxed a little more than she did. She got up and walked back into the living room, groaning painfully when she lay her head down on a pillow to rest it for a while. The auburn-haired teenager would have gone to bed but figured she already lingered around Kai enough within the time she was there so she supposed she'd leave him to be alone for a few minutes before she actually went in there. She closed her eyes and turned over onto her side but before she knew it the faintness and dizziness grew stronger and stronger till the last thing you could see was Tori's hand drop off the sofa and just her fingers twitch two millimeters above the ground.

She woke up just a little startled when someone called to her, rather coldly from the living room door way. She looked at Kai standing there and he spoke again, "Don't sleep there, it's uncomfortable." He called to her from where he stood before turning and leaving again.

Tori wiped the bit of sleep out of her eyes before looking down at her watch, two hours passed since she'd lay down on the sofa to rest and the two hours had flown by and Kai was still awake, surprising and worrying at the same time since, taking into account the stress and emotional hell he was under she thought he'd actually fallen asleep hours ago. She shook her head, yawning before she plucked up the energy to pus herself off the sofa and into her room where Kai was already lying down. She walked into her bathroom, changed quickly into her nightgown and crawled into bed, dropping her head heavily onto the pillow. "Goodnight." She whispered.

"Night." Kai whispered back to her quickly.

Tori opened her eyes again, pouting, she bit down on her bottom lip and sat up on her side, placing a hand on Kai's shoulder and peeking over him since he had his back to her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine."

"Look, about that appointment tomorrow, if you don't think you can handle it for now than postpone it. I don't want you suffering and stressing out over something that I want you to do. If you think you can do without it for now than don't go."

"I'm going because I want to know what the hell is wrong with me."

Tori rested her head on Kai's shoulder and even from there she was able to hear Kai's heart beating furiously against his own rib cage. "Nothing is…_wrong _with you, you've just got some things that you need to sort out." She corrected him carefully. The last thing she wanted him feeling was that there was actually something wrong with him, who would be okay with the fact that there was something wrong with them?

"I'll have them sorted out soon, right? Once I deal with it then it'll all be better so it's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worrying because I know you can handle it, but _you're_ worrying and despite your pride you think you aren't capable of fixing this."

"I'll manage it, don't worry about it."

"I know you'll manage, I have faith in you and I'm not leaving you alone so I'm helping you, then there's the rest of the team that can help you too." Tori had just moved off Kai and the boy beside her turned back over onto his back to be able to look up at her.

"I don't need to get their help right now, I'll manage so stop worrying about me."

"How about I tell you to stop worrying about how you're going to handle things?"

"Goodnight, Tori."

Tori closed her eyes, then scooted closer to Kai and rested her head on his shoulder, "Goodnight, Kai." She whispered back, falling asleep only a moment later.

**---Next Morning--- **

Tori groaned and turned over from one side to the other, covering her eyes from the sunlight as she slowly opened her eyes to the morning sun that shone through her windows like every other morning. She turned over onto her back once she regained her proper eyesight, then glanced at the space beside her, seeing Kai had left the room. Turning to look at her bedside table she picked up her watch and found the reason to why Kai had already left. It was already getting late, it was just after midday and knowing him his nerves got the best of him and he couldn't sleep any longer. _'Good morning, Denzelle.' _She greeted happily in her mind.

_'Since when are you so nice in the morning? Oh I know and before you ask, no I don't know where Kai is.' _

_'I wasn't telling you good morning to find out where Kai is, I said good morning because it'd be what I'd say to anyone else.' _

_'I'm so loved.' _

_'Yes, yes you are.' _

_'So what do you think is going to happen with Kai today?' _

_'I'm really not sure at the moment…I think he just might actually go through with it but he's going to attempt to kill me before and he's going to be an emotional wreck after.' _

_'Sadly, that sounds about right.' _

_'Yeah I thought it would.' _Tori sat up properly in bed, staring at her pale hands in contrast with the white bed sheets, _'You think I should go find him?' _

_'Maybe you shouldn't…just to give him time to cool off, like you said, he'd probably attempt murder.' _

_'You really think I should stay out of it?' _

_'Most definitely.' _

_'Alright, I'm going with your advice.' _Tori got off the bed, brushing her hair in front of her bedroom mirror before she walked into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast, _'You think he's alright?' _

_'I'm sure he's fine, he survived all his life alone, a couple of hours until this shrink thing he has to go to.' _

_'It's not a shrink, you genius.' _

_'Then whatever it is but you know what I mean.' _

_'Yeah, I do but I can't help worrying about him, I never could.' _

_'I think the whole world knows that by now.' _

_'Most likely.'_ The two went on with their jokes and childish antics for about an hour more, just to take each others minds off the stoic captain who'd left the building hours before, all secretly hoping that Kai was okay and handling things well.

**A/N: Well I know this chapter is much shorter than usual and for that I'm really sorry for but I used up the computer and the internet so much that the internet company slowed me down to control the internet connection I was using so forgive me for the short chapter. I don't really have time to write a long authors note today, I'm currently going through an emotional rollercoaster, what with a lot of things going on in my life along with the emotion I'm trying to put into my chapters which is only messing with my emotions. So to keep this short, please review the chapter even though I think it doesn't deserve a review from you kind people and I will try to update as soon as I can. Sounds good? Take care everyone! **


	29. Impatience Can Be A True Sign Of Love

_**Chapter 29**_

Present time, 3:30pm and Tori was getting restless, sitting on the sofa nervously with her patience running extremely thin. Kai had texted her earlier and told her he was going straight to the appointment and will be home later. The appointment had started at about two and since then Tori was getting afraid, nervous and just slightly happy that he was getting some help, then again she didn't know how he was handling things so that happiness was invisible even to herself at times. She was beginning to get too impatient, worry rising as it almost always did. Although, this worry was different. This kind of worry was the kind she felt back when they'd first met, the kind of worry that really made her wonder at times why she was worrying at all or…well just to put it simply it was different, indescribable but it just felt like a different kind of worry. Maybe because now she wasn't really worrying as someone she was in love with but maybe because she went back to worrying about him just like she would for a friend.

"This is taking far too long." Tori muttered. She slammed her hands by her sides on the sofa cushions before huffing, obviously frustrated as she stood up and walked into the kitchen. Blowing a strand of auburn hair out of her face, the front bit that was growing the quickest kept getting in her face and by now she had no more patience for anything else. She slipped a mug out of the cupboard while boiling some water, making herself a nice cup of hot herbal tea, hoping that since that had helped her in other times of impatience it'd work again. She paused when she was about to drop the tea bag into her mug, stopping and placing it by the mug. She kept her hands on the edge of the counter, gripping it tightly when she'd heard the door creeping open. She closed her eyes, breathing quietly, waiting to see whether Kai would go next to her or avoid her.

Her sharp senses heard the door across the hall being closed very quietly before she was able to see Kai walk past the kitchen out of the corner of her eye after she'd opened them upon hearing him getting closer to the room she was in. Obviously Kai was avoiding her and had walked into the bedroom, being sure to close the door behind him in hopes of avoiding Tori for a while longer. He can lock the door for all Tori cared but that would never keep her away from him. She pushed herself away from the counter, abandoning her drink as she slowly walked to the end of the hall where she opened the door to the bedroom. She peeked inside the room; Kai clearly hadn't noticed her yet. He was lying on his stomach, elbows supporting him on his pillow, music blasting loudly into his ears from his headphones.

Tori stepped into the room, closing the door behind her discreetly, walking over to Kai and crawling onto the bed, lying down beside him in the same position he was in. She kept her eyes on Kai and once he had noticed her, he slowly lifted his hand and removed the headphones from his ears, muttering a faint, "Hi."

Tori tried a small smile on her face, it being so small since she didn't know yet if it was a time for smiling but she was just trying to be supportive in a way, "Hey. You want to talk about how it went?"

Kai turned to just look at his hand on the pillow, avoiding her eyes and her smile, "There isn't much to talk about. It went fine…I get some results in about three days."

"And you can handle that? You're not going to keep worrying for days are you?" Tori asked very quietly, then raising her eyebrow at Kai once she saw him opening his mouth to speak. "And when I ask that I mean you should answer honestly." She added.

Kai looked at her out of the corner of his eye, glaring at her at the same time, "You do realizing you're not helping now, right?"

Tori smiled slightly, placing a hand on his shoulder softly, "I'm sorry but I know what you're like with things like this."

"Then you know that you're stressing me out but you're still doing it? Some girlfriend I have."

"Cut it out, I'm serious."

"So am I." Kai muttered coldly.

"You're already stressing yourself out, you have been since I got out of hospital."

"It can't be helped."

"But you're stressing out over something that can't be changed. I know you…at least well enough to know that the next few days is going to be tough on you because you think something is actually wrong with you and you want to know what."

Kai took a deep breath, resting his head against Tori's shoulder, "You aren't going to leave yet are you?"

Tori smiled contently, stroking Kai's hair soothingly, "Until you tell me to stop, I'm going to keep being here."

Kai smiled just slightly, mild sadness in his crimson eyes though, "Thanks."

Tori lay down properly on the bed, Kai joining her as he just rested his head on his arms, not protesting against Tori's hand running along his hair and shoulders. The dark-eyed girl watched him carefully, wondering silently about what was going on in Kai's head, wondering how man emotions where running a muck in there while she couldn't say anything about it in case it made things worse.

Tori started quietly, "Are you…"

"Okay? I'm fine."

Tori smiled, what he said was expected, "I was going to ask if you're tired."

"I don't know…maybe."

"You don't know if you're tired or not?" Tori asked quietly. Kai remained silent, just staring down at his hand, then shivering when he felt Tori's hand tighten slightly in his hair. "Talk to me…a little."

Kai glanced over at her, her words taking a bit of an affect on him as they usually did, "Yeah, I'm tired."

"Then you should have said so and have gotten some sleep the moment you got here instead of lying here trying to deafen yourself."

Kai took in another breath, resting his head deeper against his arms, looking almost like an upset child, "You know as well as I do that I won't sleep." He muttered, making it only loud enough for her to hear him well.

"But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try."

"What's the point?" Kai's voice finally began to crack, leaving him with nothing more than a stinging in his eyes, a heaviness in his heart and a crack in his tone of voice.

Tori had a tear in her own eye, wiping it away hurriedly, "C'mon, Kai."

"There's nothing I can do."

Tori moved herself closer to Kai, wrapping her arm over his shoulders, nuzzling her face into his neck as she kept soft kisses against the skin. "You're too hard on yourself sometimes." She informed.

"Maybe I am but…I can't change that."

Kai turned over onto his back, getting off the bed in a hurry before racing out of the room, out of Tori's sight and ear-shot. He ran into the bathroom, choking on his own breath as he closed the bathroom door behind him and fell back onto the ground, resting his back against the wooden door.

He took a slow deep breath, closing his eyes, drawing his knees to his chest and resting his head there, concentrating on passing off the irritating and uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. The suppression only began to make him shiver and shake violently against the door, making him press back against it in some hope it would all stop.

**---With Tori--- **

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Toru muttered to herself positively.

_'Of course he will be.' _

_'You think so?' _

Denzelle smiled slightly, rolling her eyes at her Mistress, _'You just said yourself that you were sure that he'd be fine.' _

_'I was just trying to be positive, I can't believe myself when I say that!' _

_'You're hysterical.' _

_'Most likely but that's not the point.' _

_'I know it isn't but you **really** need to stop worrying about him.' _

_'Don't you think it's a little late for that?' _

_'It's never too late.' _

Tori fell back against a pillow, staring at the ceiling with a tired look on her face, _'That's the kind of crap I use on Kai, it doesn't work on me.' _

_'Hey, I thought I'd give it a shot.' _Denzelle defended herself, not much else she could really do. _'But seriously, there's no reason to worry about him at the moment. Dranzer is a good enough friend to him to be able to talk to him about what's wrong, Kai will talk to you about everything eventually.' _

_'I'm not worried about him talking or not. I'm just a bit more worried that he's stressing himself out on an act of self-loath.' _

_'He hated himself long before you even knew him, he can't help the fact that some self-loath is still there and it rises when he's in a bad state, none of that can be helped and he hates that but there's nothing he can do, not now at least.' _

_'I just hate that he feels that he can't stand himself and he has to do this alone.' _

_'He knows that, and he's trying to adjust but you have to give him time to do it.' _

_'This is going to take ages and I'm running out of patience, I can't leave him alone forever.' _

_'You aren't leaving him alone, you can still help, you just need to be careful how you do it.' _

_'Yeah, but you think I should go check on him?' _

_'I'm sure he just needs to cool off and so should you, get some sleep, you deserve it.' _

_'I'm not tired.' _

_'Yes you are. You're still weak from the surgery, you still need a fair amount of rest.' _

_'Maybe you're right.' _

_'Yes, I am so rest.' _

_'Yes, madam.' _Tori joked, curling up beneath the covers of her bed, closing her eyes too as she rested comfortably against the pillow and mattress. _'Keep an eye on Kai and wake me if he needs anything.' _

**---Two Hours Later--- **

Tori yawned, walking down the hall slowly and almost stupidly from her sleepy daze as she ran her hand through her hair. She looked at the bathroom door as she walked past it, seeing it open and just continued passing it to go to the kitchen, walking in and was about to start making herself a cup of tea before she saw Kai through the kitchen window that looked over into the living room. She smiled and walked out into the living room, smiling and carefully sitting down beside Kai's sleeping form.

The boy looked peaceful yet exhausted, not realizing nor caring for the world around him and the fingers that where carefully going through his hair caringly. "He's exhausted…" Tori whispered, smiling softly down at the boy.

_'The hospital got you so used to talking to yourself.' _

_'Sadly, I can never talk to myself because I'm always being interrupted so thanks for it, Dranzer.' _

_'Forgive my intrusion but I thought you might want to know a little more about my Master.' _

_'You're forgiven, now start talking.' _

_'Go to the bathroom.' _

_'Excuse me?' _Tori asked.

_'Kai spent his last hour and fifteen minutes in there.' _

Tori raised an eyebrow, really not understanding why the bathroom was such a big issue but decided to get off the sofa to find out. Before she left to go to the bathroom though she picked the blanket off the edge of the seat, opened it up and placed it over Kai. Clearly the boy didn't think he was going to fall asleep, otherwise, even though the heat was strong, Kai was shaking and he would have been smart enough to pull the blanket on if he intended on sleeping.

She walked quietly back out of the room, stepping into the bathroom which just made her look around. _'So?' _

_'What do you see?' _

_'A bathroom. Can we speed things up a little?' _

_'Kai has become an expert at hiding things from people but some things make him tired and if he's ill he tends to leave behind traces.' _

_'Look Dranzer, no offence or anything but what Kai does in the bathroom is not my business.' _

_'I don't mean anything like that. I mean he was feeling ill earlier, he tried to clean it up but didn't notice that he left blood on the floor by the bin and toilet.' _

Tori looked sharply over at the bin by the counter, eyes widening at the sight of the dried blood by it. _'Wait, you mean he hurt himself again?' _

_'I don't know, do you count worrying till he threw up blood as hurting himself?' _

_'That's more indirect but I know what you mean. Now I just wish I was awake.' _

_'You couldn't have helped. He wasn't about to let you in to help so it wouldn't have made that much of a difference.' _

Tori sighed, looking on at the blood, hating to admit that Dranzer was right. She sat down on the side of the bath, looking around the room from there, _'How'd it happen?' _

_'I'm really not sure about the direct form of it but I think it was all triggered by his worry. He was worrying, his heart rate sped up and he was trying to slow it down but it didn't work so the more he worried the quicker this happened. Once he'd finished throwing up he cleaned things up, or tried to at least but got tired and went to lie down for a while.' _

_'But he ended up falling asleep.' _

_'Throwing up takes more out of him than you think, he got tired and fell asleep, since then things have been fine but I thought I'd inform you of things.' _

_'I'm glad you did, thanks.' _

_'Mistress Tori, I know that you care about him but please be careful with him.' _

_'Denzelle and I spoke a lot today and it made me think that I need a new approach with most things, maybe things wont change completely but I'm going to be more careful, especially for the next few days.' _

_'A change isn't needed; I just ask that you're careful.' _

_'I will be, don't worry about it.' _

_'Like you, I really do worry about him and I've been trying to look after him ever since he was a child.' _

_'Has the child part changed? I mean he looks like a sweet, innocent, little kid when he's asleep. He's pretty adorable when he's like that.' _

_'Sleeping is one of those rare times where he can just be himself, and be that child he didn't have the chance to be when he was younger, then after a while that was tainted too.' _Dranzer sounded mostly upset but some frustration was in there too. Frustration for the nightmares and pain Kai was going through, while anger was directed towards his Master's abusers, the ones responsible for all the pain.

_'I'm going to fix things; I'll make sure that things will get better for him.' _

_'Thank you.' _

_'Now…you go and relax and take it easy and I'll take over looking after Kai for a couple of hours.' _Tori confidently pushed herself off the side of the bath and walked out of the bathroom, resting her back against the wall.

_'Well alright.' _

Tori peeked into the living room, bit down painfully on her lip, so much so that she felt a coppery taste of blood. She walked back into the bathroom, checked the mirror, seeing that thankfully there was no blood erupting from her pale pink lips. She walked into the living room, seeing that Kai was now awake and shaking more violently than before as he tried harder to warm himself up, moving closer down against the cushions of the sofa. Tori tried to put a small gentle smile onto her face, sitting beside his form, running her hand over his shoulder quickly which added to a bit of warmth for him, "Hey…how are you feeling?"

Kai turned onto his back, arching backwards a little when trying to suppress another shiver. He pushed himself up into a sitting position once taking into account what Tori had whispered to him and realized he had to give an answer, "I'm fine." Another failed attempt at trying to prove himself to Tori as he lost focus on the task at hand and collapsed forward.

Tori caught Kai in time, holding tightly onto Kai's shoulder with one hand to keep him upright, using the other hand to fix the pillows behind Kai and pushing him back against them gently. "You're a terrible liar when you're ill." She informed him.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Kai whispered, trying a smile of his own.

"I'm sure you will be."

Kai slowly pushed himself up again, trying to regain some composure, that of what he had left at least.

"Hey, get back down." Tori ordered quietly, pushing him back again, a bit of alarm set.

Kai put his hands behind his back, moving up again, "I need some water." He whispered hoarsely.

Tori grit her teeth and pushed him back again, then releasing the tension and going back to her calm façade, "I'll get it for you, just lie back and relax." She got up and walked out of the living room and back to the kitchen, pouring out a tall glass of water.

"I'm not helpless." Kai called after her, regretting it once the burning of his throat sunk in.

Tori walked back in, sitting down by Kai and handing him the glass, "I know you're not but you're sick and you shouldn't be expected to do things while you're sick." Kai raised his eyes to look at Tori, taking the glass from her and sipping the water slowly as he kept an eye on her. Tori looked on carefully, making eye contact with him the whole time, "I know about what happened to you today."

"That damn traitor." Kai muttered bitterly.

Tori shook her head, "Don't blame Dranzer, he just helped me to try and help you."

"How bad do you think it is?"

"I have no idea but it's probably just stress and I want to ask my parents for some advice on it, to see what it is."

"Wouldn't a doctor round here just be easier?"

"Since when do you look forward to seeing a doctor?"

"I don't but the doctors worry less than your parents."

"I'm sure about that but doctors may take a while to give you results and you're already struggling with that and we don't have time to waste and besides, mom and dad want to know how you're doing."

"And it'd be wonderful to tell them that I've been throwing up my own blood over worrying about some results that I wouldn't usually care about." Kai said sarcastically to her, placing the glass back onto the table beside the sofa.

"At least we'd be telling them the truth and maybe they can help."

Kai shrugged before lying back down, "Maybe. I don't know."

"Right now you shouldn't worry. Now you should be relaxing, not worrying about anything and you should be taking advantage of the fact that I want to help you. It's tough but please try."

"I will."

"Good." Tori smiled happily, then turning on the sofa, lifting her legs up and lying down beside Kai, cuddling close as she pulled the blanket tighter around him for added warmth. "Now you can go back to getting some sleep." She told him.

Kai looked down at her, looking confused beyond belief while a little concern and happiness in his eyes, "You're going to stay here?" he asked her.

"You're freezing but it's too hot to put on the heater so you've got a human one."

Kai smiled, pulled an arm around Tori, letting her rest properly against him as the two lay back, Kai fell asleep and Tori kept a close eye on him to make sure he was okay. The boy's skin remained cold for the most part but after a while the shivering subsided completely which was an improvement that Tori was thankful for, considering that the shivering was worrying her beyond her belief. Now Kai looked so calm and peaceful, like the sweet child that he had described to Dranzer, the innocent boy that she found really sweet for the innocence she didn't see him with when he was awake.

After a while Tori slid her phone out of her back pocket, remaining close to Kai but flicking it open and quietly typing out a message to her dad for help, at the same time trying not to wake Kai. She finished up as quick as she could, closing her phone and placing it behind her on the table. She encircled her arm around Kai's waist, resting her head back onto his shoulder as she lay there with her eyes closed, listening to the quiet rhythmic beat of Kai's heart.

Tori looked up at him, locking eyes with Kai again who had woken up and was staring down at her without her noticing. "Get back to sleep." She whispered.

"I don't need to sleep alright?"

"You're sick and till I get an answer from my dad I want you to keep resting and to make sure you do so, I'm calling the rest of the team."

"What? No way, that's cruel."

"It's only to help you, trust me, it's not evilly intended."

"Yes it is." Kai said, almost in a whining tone.

Tori smiled, kissed him on the cheek quickly and got off the sofa, "The others will be here soon." She smiled a little sadistically, turning away and walking out the door so Kai wouldn't see her.

"Thanks a lot." Kai called, sarcastically of course, with a lot of anger cooped up into his hoarse voice.

Within half an hour Tyson, Max and Ray where at the apartment, grouped up around the sofa Kai was sitting on, keeping a close eye on him. Tori had joined in on it earlier but then she got a call from her dad and had gone down the hall to her bedroom. She'd just entered the living room again when she closed her phone again and jumped down onto the armchair by Kai's sofa. "So how insane does your dad think I am?" Kai asked her, sitting up properly.

"He doesn't think you're insane."

"So what's wrong with Kai? He's possessed right?" Tyson asked Tori, in his usual joking manner that got him into trouble.

"I'm not possessed now but I will be tomorrow during training to you just for that stupid comment."

"Kai, cool it. Tyson, shut it." Tori refereed sharply. "Now, my dad just said that it's between hemoptysis, which is coughing up blood and hematemesis, which is actually vommiting blood. If its caused by stress then it can be either of them."

"So what happens in both then?" Ray asked curiously.

"Well my dad's exact words when I asked where, 'I'd love to help you and your friend but you have a laptop with a very good available internet connection so use it' so I really don't know that much about any of them but dad said that if you just keep your stress and alcahol consumption at a good level and make sure your blood pressure is normal, with a little rest it'll lighten up."

"That means no training tomorrow!" Tyson cheered happily.

"Don't be a wise ass, I'll be taking training over for the next few days." Tori informed him, acting almost…cold in a sense.

Kai calmly, was the first and quickest to object to her words though, "You're still recovering from your surgery, you shouldn't be training."

"I'm not going to do anything to myself, I'm just going to keep an eye on them and make sure they train."

"Which is stressful enough." Kai pointed out to her.

"I'll be fine, I'll just stay on the porch and order them about."

"And probably run after them if they refuse to do as you tell them."

"Most likely." Tori answered hurriedly. Kai glared coldly at her, some sadness that was unnoticeable to the rest in the room aside from Tori. The auburn-haired girl sighed and turned to the rest of the team, "Guys, are you all going to listen to me tomorrow and cause as little problems as you can?" she asked, almost not believing the words that where even crossing her lips with such a calm heir in her voice.

The team looked at her, worried in a sense, Tyson also a bit annoyed that there wasn't much of another option to take. All three nodded quickly to her question which made Tori smile and turn back to Kai, "See."

"No, I don't see because most likely they're going to go back on their word and you could get hurt."

"We're not that untrustworthy, Kai." Max pointed out to him.

"Not all of you at least." Kai said coldly.

"Both of you, just shut up." Ray ordered almost angrily. Tori and Kai looked at Ray confusedly, blinking in almost disbelief at Ray's sound of authority, something new to the boy's voice. "Neither of you are taking over training. You're both staying home, Tori is going to rest and Kai is going to stop worrying and I'll control training, got it?"

Everyone in the room went completely quiet, each and everyone looking at each other almost blankly. They all realized that no one was attempting to speak and Tori took it upon herself to start, "I think I can live with that, Kai, what about you?" she was quiet again, it sounded like she wanted to avoid an argument with Kai.

Kai looked up at her blankly, a small amount of coldness in his eyes, even when he nodded and replied with, "Fine."

**---Hours Later--- **

Tori remained lying on the sofa Kai had previously been on when the team was there. She was lying on her side, watching Kai intently as he stood outside on the balcony, looking out in absolute silence. She sighed, resting her head on her hands as she continued to keep an eye on him. After the team had left the two had…made up for lack of a better term. The two hadn't been arguing much in the first place, they were just a bit upset with each other that the other wasn't taking much care of their feelings. Kai was obviously upset that Tori wasn't taking care of herself as much as he'd liked and it was the same with Tori; she would have preferred it if he were being more careful.

So the two made up and made out after a while, you'd think, what's a better way to make up then sex? Well the two started out that way, it was great just because they were fine, they were okay with each other but as always they hadn't gotten far before something happened like something always did. Kai had just gotten as far as taking his shirt off but when Tori was touching his back and side it was as though he couldn't take it, he just jerked away from her, looked a bit scared but that's all Tori really noticed. She'd put a hand on his shoulder but he seemed almost afraid of it at the time. Then he got dressed and walked out onto the balcony and Tori just let him go, assuming he didn't want to talk for a while.

That was all probably about an hour ago, or almost close to an hour but you get the idea, he'd been alone for a while, she was worrying, nothing new about that right? Wrong. Something was strange about both of them. Tori was fading in and out constantly, always feeling light headed while she was lying down, feeling like she was being dragged into a sleep. Kai on the other hand, Kai was being Kai, it just seemed like he wasn't ready to get intimate with anyone, even if the relationship was a close one for a long time. For a long time, it looked like Kai was frozen into place or something, he wouldn't move from where he was. His mind was set onto the sight in front of him as long as he was going to keep thinking.

Tori got off the sofa and into the kitchen, once feeling her throat was getting dry and her pale lips where starting to crack from their dryness. She made herself an icy cold drink, the only thing that she considered her actual savior to the horrible summer heat that was felt. Biting down on her lip she looked out of the kitchen window, the one dividing the kitchen and the living room. From that same window she could look over the balcony where Kai remained and probably would remain unless she decided to go to talk to him.

Tori jumped onto the counter and sat there quietly, sipping her water with many thoughts in her head as she slowly went through everything that was going on at the time. She cursed rapidly in her mind, dropped her mug into the sink and jumped off the counter. She walked into the living room, stopped for only a second of thought before slowly walking over to the balcony screen door. Taking a steady, careful breath she slowly and quietly opened the door and stepped outside. She stood just beside Kai, in the same position he was in, resting his forearms on the black banister as he stared over the edge.

Tori glanced over at him, looking worried but a little more hesitant compared to usual. She looked over the edge again, down below to the stone-tilled streets beneath them, "Did I hurt you?" she whispered.

Kai shook his head carefully, no sign of emotion on his face, a blank stare taking over the pale features of the teenage boy, "No."

"You want to talk about what happened?"

Kai glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, taking a look at the sweet look in her eyes, figuring he might as well say something, even if it wasn't direct. "You ever been self-conscious, about your body and stuff?"

"Sooner or later, for however long it is, every girl is eventually." Tori smiled sweetly at him, but still knowing that he wasn't looking at her. She sighed with a bit of annoyance but decided to answer his question anyway, "Yeah I have been. I hadn't gone swimming ever since I found out about my condition. The medication was messing with my body so the only times I've even hit water was for a shower or bath but that's about it. You remember that time you were ill and I told you to sneak out of the Dojo?"

Kai remembered that time too well, it was the first time the two had some time together alone outside the Dojo without arguing with each other.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_He arrived down by the beach and from where he stood he could see Tori's thin silhouette by the water, dipping her feet into the cold water as she stared out where the moon reflected on the clear waters. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, making her turn around in fright. Once seeing who it was she visibly calmed down and smiled sweetly, "Hey there!" she said happily. "How are you?" she asked when she didn't get a greeting._

_"I'm fine. Why'd you call me here?" Kai asked, getting straight down to business apparently. _

_"Friendly gesture. I thought that maybe you'd want to get out of there for a while but I'm not really trusting you to go out by yourself." _

_"Really? What could I possibly do that's so bad?" Kai asked her, folding his arms across his chest. _

_"I wouldn't know, that's why I don't trust you." Tori said with a grin. "So anything you want to do?" she asked him. _

_Kai shrugged, walking ahead of her along the beach with nothing really to say to her. _

_"Let's just go for a drink then, that good?" Tori asked him, watching as Kai nodded in reply. _

**_---EndFlasback--- _**

"Of course."

Tori nodded and remained with her eyes locked on the street, "Well that was the first time in about five years that any part of my body touched sea water."

Kai looked at her with a bit of amazement in eyes, "Really?"

"I was too worried about what I looked like to ever go swimming. The night Denzelle and I pushed you into the water and you pulled me in with you was the closest I've been to swimming in years." Speaking, she sounded hesitant, scared, maybe even a little ashamed of the fact since she was blushing a light pink. "Does that answer your question?" she asked him.

"Yeah."

"So if you're self-conscious, I'm sure you have a reason for it."

Kai sat down on the chair, resting his arm on the table as he kept his sight marked on the floor, glaring intensely at it. Tori turned, resting her back against the banister before walking up to Kai and sitting on his lap, wrapping an arm around his neck, looking at him with an urge for him to speak which he did. "The night that my grandfather stabbed me…"

"Kai are you alright talking about this?" Tori asked, interrupting quickly once realizing the subject.

Kai nodded hesitantly, then slowly opening his mouth to speak again, "He wanted to take advantage of how much blood was pouring out of my cuts. He put his hand into the biggest wound on my side, showed me the blood on his hand, he probably wanted to rub in the fact that I was going to die. It's not that big of a deal but it's just that sometimes I can still feel his fingers in the wound."

"You can't say that it's not a big deal, I'm sure it hurt a lot and I get why you're hurt by him but your grandfather is in prison, maybe even dead for all you know."

"I know that but it doesn't change anything for me."

"I know and I see that but I know you'll handle it all well. Just take it easy and don't worry so much, in the meantime I'll keep my hands off you to make sure I don't hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me. I just can't trust myself, I can't deal with anything."

"That's because you're stressing out, you always have been. You always look so calm and tough but really you're tough because you're breaking from forcing so much stress on yourself."

"You know I can't help it."

"I know, that's why I'm not forcing anything else on you so let's just get through the next few days as best we can, alright?" Tori got off Kai and placed a hand out in front of him for him to take.

"Sure." Kai ignored her hand though and walked back inside the living room, sitting back comfortably on the sofa, Tori joining him after only a second. Kai looked at her before wrapping an arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer to him so she could rest against his shoulder as always.

Tori rested her head against his shoulder, then crept her hand onto his stomach, avoiding the area of the shirt where she knew the worst wound on the boy's body was. "You're alright with this?"

"Yeah, of course."

"And you don't think that us being together is a mistake or anything?" Tori asked sadly.

Kai smirked, looking down at her and holding onto her tighter, "If it is, then I guess I'm going to make it again." His words made Tori look up at him quickly, the reaction he was intending as he then carefully set his lips on hers in a sweet and tender kiss before the two pulled away and sat quietly there for a few minutes, holding onto each other for their lives.

**A/N: Forgive me that this chapter is so late but I've had a stressful couple of days and over the weekend my little sister got very ill and I had to take care of her so there was very little time left for writing. I hope this chapter turned out okay, even though its short like some of my recent chapters, forgive me. Please review and tell me what you think and I'll have next chapter up as soon as I can. Take care everyone!**


	30. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30**_

Tori pulled tighter around Kai's waist, always keeping her eyes on the scar of the major wound Kai had optained from his grandfather, making sure that she didn't touch the scar in fear that it would cause him more discomfort. She looked up at him for a moment, then returned to resting her head on his shoulder, "Are you alright?" she whispered softly. She had to admit that what Kai's grandfather had done to him had come to a bit of a surprise, not expecting that he was _that_ heartless. She was worrying a little now though. Kai had been open with her about what had happened to him but the coldness of his grandfather had worried her, making her innocent mind wonder about how someone could be so cold hearted to a teenager.

"Of course."

Tori tightened her hand's grip on Kai's shirt as she bit down on her lip again for a second before speaking, "Now that you're talking a little. Do you mind if I ask a question? You don't need to answer it but its just been something on my mind."

"Go ahead." Kai patiently waited as Tori took her sweet time to ask the question, probably going on in her mind whether or not she should ask him or not. He gave her arm a squeeze which made her head jolt up to look at him, his eyes then locking with hers, practically ordering her to ask her question.

Tori sighed and rested her head on Kai's stomach lightly, "Why did you fight to remain alive when your grandfather stabbed you? I mean, I'm not complaining about it or anything but you seem to have hated everything around you, why fight for a life you didn't want?"

"That's easy; because I couldn't let him win, if I died then I would have been proving him right."

Tori sighed yet again and closed her eyes, "Finally I found a good reason for the male pride."

"It's in the past now so you don't need to think about it." Kai told her quietly.

"You do."

"I was also the one that went through it, I have reasons to think about it."

"And I'm your girlfriend and I worry about you so I have a reason to think about it too." Tori kept persisting, obviously; it was in her nature after all, not to mention the fact that she's stubborn beyond the human belief, by now she's proved that.

"You don't need to worry, at all for that matter. It's my problem and not yours and I'm dealing with it just fine."

"I suppose."

Kai held tighter onto Tori, moving her arm a little just so that he could tighten his hold on her. He reached forward and picked the phone up off the table and handed it to her, "Let's order in." he told her.

"I'm not hungry actually." Tori sat up and lay on the other side of the sofa, gently setting her head onto a pillow for some comfort to her aching skull.

"What? Since when?" Kai sat up properly too and looked over at her, eyes holding some concern for her.

Tori looked at him oddly, "I'm just not hungry." She repeated.

Kai reached a hand towards Tori, stroking her hair and her cheek with his thumb, trying a small but worried smile, "Alright." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, held their fixed looks in their eyes before Kai got off the sofa and walked to the kitchen, taking the cordless phone with him. Tori remained lying there in absolute silence, occasionally concentrating enough to be able to hear Kai on the phone down the hall, probably ordering in a pizza for dinner. After a while though Tori lost strength completely and closed her eyes, falling asleep in a few seconds, a peaceful warmth washing over her.

Tori remained lying there in absolute silence, occasionally concentrating enough to be able to hear Kai on the phone down the hall, probably ordering in a pizza for dinner. After a while though Tori lost strength completely and closed her eyes, falling asleep in a few seconds, a peaceful warmth washing over her.

* * *

"Tori, come on wake up." 

Tori opened her dark eyes and looked up into Kai's crimson ones, looking confused and tired at the same time, "What?" she whispered.

"Come to bed." Kai ordered softly, picking up her hands to help her off the sofa.

Tori groaned tiredly, swinging her legs off the side of the sofa and using Kai's help to haul herself off the sofa before she walked past him to her room. She entered her bathroom, changed as fast as she could with the sleepiness swirling in her head before staggering back into the bedroom and falling onto the bed, crawling under the covers and not saying another word after a faint 'good night' to Kai who'd just lay down next to her.

Kai took a deep breath, turned onto his side with his back towards Tori to finally get some rest of his own. Despite Tori's exhaustion she found a little strength in her to do one more act from her heart. She crawled over to Kai's side of the bed, gave him a sweet peck on the cheek and lay down close to him for added warmth. In cases like these Tori would usually wrap her arms around his waist but considering the circumstances and her exhaustion she decided against it for once and instead just kept a soft hand on his arm for some form of comfort to him.

For the most part, the two teenagers in love fell asleep quickly and peacefully. Tori's night was quiet, feeling a warmth as she slept and a small smile was on her face through most of the night. Very early in the morning though she felt a light cold breeze against her bare legs, apparently the covers had been tugged right off her as the breeze touched the rest of the bare areas of her body soon after. "Stop that." She whispered to Kai, tugging the sheets back before they were pulled off her again. She huffed angrily and sat up in bed, moving her hand out to her bedside table before flicking the switch while speaking, "Kai I swear if you pull the…" she paused one she looked over at Kai in the light.

Just a plain, thin, shaking figure in the space on the bed beside her. Tori sighed, got off the bed and walked over to her wardrobe before pulling out some more blankets. Placing them at the bottom of the bed she unfolded two before placing them carefully over Kai, then taking the last one to her side of the bed and lying down, setting the blanket over her own form.

**---Next Morning--- **

It was almost 11:30 and Kai was just on his way out of the apartment when Tori had stepped out of her bedroom, pulling the door closed behind her when she saw Kai leaving. "Hey, where are you going?" she asked, walking down the hall to stand beside him.

"Tyson's." Kai replied casually.

"You're not training, Kai."

Kai walked out the door and into the hall, "I'm fine now so I'm capable of training."

"You aren't." Tori tugged at his hand and pulled him back into the apartment, "You need to stop moving around all the time."

"I told you I feel fine."

"Have you actually counted how many times you've been wrong?" Tori asked, aiming it for it to be a bit more of a rhetorical question.

"I need to get out of here."

Tori huffed angrily, crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall, "You really need to look after yourself more."

"I'm looking after myself just fine."

"Nooooooo, you're not." Tori told him.

"Let's go out then, but I just need to get out of here and get some air."

Tori pushed herself off the wall and continued to look at him, contemplating in her mind, "Fine, we'll go for a walk, then maybe check in on the others later but no training and no dictating."

Kai groaned and turned to leave the apartment, muttering, "Fine."

"Smart choice, honey." Tori smiled, running out the door and pulling the door behind her.

"It was the _only_ choice." Kai pointed out, obviously frustrated as he walked down the stairs to the street, Tori following close behind.

Tori stopped for a second, jerked her thumb over her shoulder and asked, "You want to go back upstairs?"

"No. Thanks."

"You're a very smart person." Tori latched onto his arm, smiling contently.

**---Later--- **

Tori ran through the gate of the Dojo, Kai following far behind her as he gave up on trying to catch up with the other girl. Tori entered the Dojo, seeing everyone else there as she smiled down at them, obviously the whole team on a break. "Hey, guys!" Tori jumped and sat down on the ground between Tyson and Max, smiling happily.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here; I thought you were meant to be resting?" Ray voiced, almost worriedly.

Tori pouted, seeming a little upset by his words which surprised everyone, "You're not happy to see me?" she asked, an almost adorable sadness in her clear brown eyes.

Ray was taken slightly aback by the look on her face and replied with a small stutter at first, "Of course I'm happy to see you but that's not the point."

Tori quickly cheered up again, smiling and blinking as it seemed as though her eyes where smiling with her lips, "So what is the point?"

"The one where we had an argument yesterday that ended with us agreeing that I'd be in charge of training and you and Kai would be at home resting."

"Kai and I wanted to go out for a while so we went for a walk and lunch." Tori said hurriedly in her defence.

"And where is Kai now?" Tyson asked her.

When Tori opened her mouth to speak she noticed Kai walk into the Dojo and up behind her, looking down at them all with some anger in his cold crimson eyes. "Hey, Kai!" Tori greeted happily.

"Kai, what's wrong with Tori?" Ray stood up so he could be closer to Kai as both males stared down at the girl, confusion on Ray's face while annoyance and frustration clouded Kai's along with the tint of exhaustion stirred up in there.

"Her head was hurting so she wanted to get ice-cream and she had far too much for anyone's good."

"I like Tori when she's hyper." Max told the rest of the team, laughing as he said it.

Kai didn't find anything of any importance to say to the team so he prepared to leave again with a last few words, "Baby sit Tori for a while, I'm going for a peaceful walk."

"Can I come?" Tyson asked quickly.

"I thought I said I was going for a _peaceful_ walk, that's why I'm leaving Tori behind. And don't feed her anything else with sugar…otherwise she'll be bouncing off the walls all night." Kai told them, muttering the last part.

"He's mean." Tori crossed her arms and rested back against Max's shoulder.

"You want to go get some chocolate?" Tyson asked her quietly, purposely so that the one in charge of looking after the troublesome ones wouldn't hear them.

"I'll race you to the kitchen." Tori whispered back mischievously. The three got off the ground and ran out of the room to the kitchen, leaving Ray alone in the empty room. Ray sighed and slid back down onto the floor, leaning back against the wall till he could be bothered to get up and wrestle different sugars out of the hands of the three most immature teenagers he knew. Before he could get up to go after them Tori practically flew in and sat in front of him quickly, "Chocolate?" she asked him, handing him a bar of white chocolate.

"No thanks."

Tori tilted her head slightly, "Is Kai fed up of me?" she asked.

"What? No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"I don't think I've ever seen him so eager to leave me behind." Tori commented.

"I'm sure he just needed a few minutes alone, he'll be back soon but it's no reason to believe he's fed up of you."

"Alright. So you want some chocolate?" Tori offered again.

Ray smiled a little at her sound of persistence, "I already said no thanks."

"Oh…right…you did. Sorry."

"It's ok. So what kind of mess are Max and Tyson making?"

"Nothing they can't sleep off."

"That's comforting."

"I thought so too." Tori laughed. "You better go keep them out of trouble." She advised quietly, a smile never leaving her face.

"Yeah, probably. I'll talk to you later then." Ray stood up, flashed Tori a sweet smile before he left the room. Tori smiled too, only this time there was no one left in the room to see it but they all knew it was there, it almost always was. She got off the ground and walked outside, settling down on the porch so she could greet Kai once he arrived back to the Dojo.

**---With Kai- Half An Hour Later--- **

The Russian captain was miles away from the Dojo by now, he'd run the for a few blocks to be certain that Tori, nor the other team members would follow him and question him about anything. Now he was moving at a slow and steady pace, his hands in his pocket as he walked down the streets, mild thoughts of different parts of his life going on in his head, forcing himself to evaluate his life and himself and his reasons for being there.

They were all thoughts that had started resurfacing when he was walking with Tori and was held deep into the thoughts that Tori constantly caught him spacing out so he decided to put off the thinking until he was alone long enough to think for himself without any interruptions, or so he hoped that there wouldn't be any at least. Most of the time he was trying to keep self-loathing thoughts as far off as he could and just tried to pick out all the things that Tori and his team had said about him in the past. The team had always considered him a good part of the team, all of them saying that without him the team would have fallen apart but sometimes he thought that it was him that broke the team up in the first place.

He'd discarded that idea soon after, thinking that if he were the one who had broke the team up then they wouldn't be together at present, and they wouldn't have let him continue being part of the team. Then there where all the things his grandfather had done and said to him over the years. Everything he had been called wasn't anything that special, just the usual stuff anyone can call you but these hurt because they were said by a family member, not to mention the family member he had tried to please for many years, the one he looked up to despite all he had had him been put through. That night Tori forced him to think about all those things and made him cry, a few days later she singled out every single insult Kai had been called in the letter and found some proof to prove his grandfather wrong and in a sense it was comforting to know that there was someone who believed in him.

It wasn't that he didn't believe what Tori said and her disagreements with Voltaire but once words like his grandfather's got in, it was a little hard to get them out and believe someone else, someone you didn't know for as long. It was just the psychological ways of dealing with things that he actually went on to hating himself, but now it just took too long to try to get rid of the irritating feeling.

Then he was startled by a ringing in his pocket, he sighed, stopped for a second and looked around the streets, not realizing where he had been walking and took a moment to take it all in. He then turned back to his pocket and slid out his phone, sighing with frustration as he saw Ray calling him. He rested his back against the wall and just shoved his phone back into his pocket, ignoring the ringing before he kept on walking. Groaning and taking a deep breath when he finally heard his phone ringing for a second time in five minutes. He looked at the phone, contemplated for a minute on whether or not he should answer but he did after a third ring, "Yeah?" he sounded monotonous as always, not caring about how cold he sounded at the time.

_'Hey Kai, where are you?' _

_'Out for a walk.' _

Ray was obviously frustrated with Kai's answer and Kai was more than positive that Ray had muttered, 'That's helpful.' Before he actually spoke to him, _'How far are you from the hospital?' _

_'About three blocks away, why?' _

_'You promise that you're going to remain calm?' _

_'I am calm!' _Kai said through gritted teeth.

_'You're not but whatever. Tori collapsed again and she's just been admitted to the hospital.' _

_'What?!' _

_'Doctors are checking on her now, so far there's nothing to worry about but you should be here soon.' _

_'I'll be there in a few minutes.' _Kai shut the phone before Ray even had a chance to take in what he'd said, turned and sprinted to the hospital that was three blocks away from his current location. Once he arrived there he looked for the same section of the hospital where Tori could always be found, especially her doctor. He saw Tyson and Max standing outside a hospital room and he raced up to them, "So?" he asked them.

"She's fine, Ray is seeing her now." Max answered, standing up.

"So what happened?" Kai asked them urgently, he couldn't help but panic and the other two could tell.

"Her head was just hurting and she collapsed again, don't worry so much." Tyson tried comforting, placing a hand on Kai's shoulder and bringing him to sit down.

"And what did the doctors say?!"

Max smiled and sat down beside Kai, "I think if one were here he'd tell you to calm down before you gave yourself a heart attack."

"Just answer the question, please." Kai told him, sounding already annoyed that people were taking so much concern over his worry. 

"The doctors said that it's normal that she collapsed after brain surgery, saying that they'd be more worried if she didn't collapse." Tyson answered, almost too quickly, most likely afraid of his angering captain.

**A/N: Extremely short chapter! Blame my sister who decided to slice and dice my face with her nails and ram my shoulder into the ground and bruise the bone so forgive me but at least it shows she's better for those of you who were concerned. Nothing much to say! Please review! **


	31. Do We Really Need More Bad News?

_**Chapter 31**_

"So when can we go see her?" Kai asked urgently, refusing to remain sitting down for longer then a minute.

"We can see her now, we were waiting for you to arrive." Tyson replied, smiling.

Kai grit his teeth and hit Tyson upside the head, "And you tell me this now?" he asked angrily, not waiting for an answer but walking straight past the other two boys and into the room opposite. He took a sharp breath and looked over at Tori who lay in bed, she and Ray turning to look at him as he tried a small smile on his face. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.

Tori smiled happily and answered him quietly in her raspy voice, "I'm fine, nothing to worry about."

Kai looked on strangely at her, wondering why her voice was so raspy all of a sudden and considering those in the room noticed his confusion Ray decided to explain, "The doctors pumped more medication in her to keep her stable and it affected her voice a little."

Kai slowly sat down in the chair beside Tori's bed, keeping an eye on her from there in silence before turning to Ray again, "How long is she going to be here for?" he asked him coldly.

"The nurse said she can go home tonight." Max answered for him. In a way, Max probably thought that a bit of his innocence would get to Kai and get Kai to stop acting so cold for a few minutes, hence why he made himself answer instead of Ray.

The Russian captain didn't say anything else, just turned to look at Tori who couldn't help but smile sweetly at him, "Like I said, nothing to worry about." She whispered.

**---At The Apartment---**

Kai had just gotten into bed, lying back comfortably into the mattress as he relaxed his tense muscles for probably the first time in the whole day. A light weight fell on the bed and Tori crawled into bed beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist when he looked up at her, "What?"

Tori pouted down at him, "I wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Tori fell down beside him, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, her hands limply on her thin stomach, "The pressure on you lately…"

"Has nothing to do with it." Kai interrupted her coldly.

"Yes it does. You've been pressured by me a lot, with making you go see a doctor and just being with you when you hate a lot of the things going on with yourself and not to mention that you're always looking out for me and worrying about me. Then there's the stress from the team, they just stress you a lot in general. And then there's the suspense of the doctor's results about you and I know you're stressing about that too."

Kai turned onto his stomach, supporting himself with his right arm as the other arm slid over Tori's stomach, "So some things are stressful but none of it is getting to me. And looking out for you is not that bad, I try and whether I like it or not I'll worry anyway so there's no sense stressing over this."

Tori sighed deeply, turning over onto her side with her back towards Kai, his arm still remaining over her waist, "I just don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you."

Kai placed his hand on her stomach carefully before pulling her closer to him so her back was close to his chest, "You're not."

Tori turned over onto her other side so she could look at him. She remained staring almost blankly with thought before she opened her mouth to speak, closing it again before closing the small gap between them for only a second, then pulling away again. Kai smiled at her shyness then pulled her a little closer, giving her a soft kiss on the neck before turning onto his back and switched off the side lamp. "Good night, Kai." Tori whispered softly.

"Good night."

**---Next Morning--- **

Tori lay on her sofa in an odd way. Her laptop was currently on the coffee table close to the front of the sofa while she was lying on her stomach facing her laptop, her legs behind her bent and swinging occasionally as she continued to browse and read the items on her laptop's screen.

Kai had left the apartment early that morning or at least that was what Tori thought. She'd woken up at 6:30am and didn't find Kai in bed, nor anywhere else in the apartment which worried her at first. She had soon got back from searching the apartment and went back to bed within the ten minutes she was awake. She slept in until 11 which was new for her to actually do but she wasn't complaining about it either because a part of her did feel like she hadn't been taking care of herself well enough. With that in mind she'd taken the morning, or at least what was left of it, to relax and take things easy compared to her usual agenda of chasing her boyfriend and friends around. A nice comforting bath was all she needed, then to change into a skirt and tank top and lie down on the sofa for her morning to be relaxing.

After a while of relaxing, and pigging out on sugary sweets she decided to do some research of her own. She wasn't about to call the doctors Kai had been to and invade his privacy so she decided to do some research of her own. She sighed as she turned over on the sofa into a comfortable lying position, staring at the ceiling with a hand on her forehead.

**_---Flashback- The Evening Before At The Hospital--- _**

_Tori and Kai had just been left alone for a few minutes as Tyson had gotten hungry and Tori had too so the rest of the team had voted on leaving the couple alone to talk while they went to the cafeteria to get some food. Tori opened her eyes and looked at Kai who was staring at her almost angrily, "I wish you were a little more careful." He told her coldly. _

_"There wasn't much to be careful of. You just want to blame me for collapsing." _

_"Yeah. You mind?" _

_"No, not at all." Tori answered simply, shrugging for emphasize. _

_"Good…thanks." _

_Tori laughed, gripping Kai's hand that lay limply on the bed, "I'm just lying here, I'm not doing anything thanks-worthy." She watched quietly as Kai just sat there, not minding the supportive pressure on his hand as much as he'd thought but Tori kept biting down on her lower lip before releasing the pressure on it and speaking quietly, "Once we're here for an hour, why don't you go upstairs to your doctor and see if he has some answers for you?" _

_"I'll just wait." Kai replied. Nothing about his voice had changed and the coldness in it didn't change no matter what he had said which pointed out his stubborn exterior which everyone knew of him so well. _

_Tori wasn't too surprised with his answer but didn't bother to push Kai too much, "Are you sure?" _

_"Yeah, I am." _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

Now looking back to the night before, Tori thought back and wondered that maybe Kai did care about how long it took for him to know some results. So from her thoughts of that that had occurred that morning, she'd begun to do some research on psychological trauma. She wasn't too sure on how to look that kind of stuff and find reliable sources but that was where her parents came in again and helped her out on that, giving her details on where to find precise things she was intending on looking for.

The problem was, that at the time she was already getting too tired to actually look it all up and read it all so she opted for resting for a few minutes. After the collapse she wasn't about to risk things again by not resting when her body told her to. Well actually she didn't rest when her body told her to, she decided to actually listen to it when her body was screaming more than telling her to.

She was quite enjoying her time of relaxation but also found it boring to quite a point. A bored and tired Tori was not a happy one, you can be assured that much. She rolled over and shifted painfully into her past position to have a good view of her laptop again.

The girl pushed back her auburn hair, the front bit that had grown out and kept hanging in front of her eyes. She continued to read before she heard the front door opening; she glanced over to the living room door and smiled when she saw Kai walk in. He dropped his jacket on the chair by the door and sits down exhaustedly by her side, on reaction Tori closed the window so he wouldn't be able to see. "Hiding things from me?" Kai asked her, obviously being smart enough to see the screen rotate window out of the corner of his eye. Tori didn't speak but just remained in the same position, not moving her hand off the mouse pad of the laptop, "Looking at porn, are you?" Kai joked, smirking.

"What? No way!" Tori sat up quickly, looking on at him upset.

"Then what are you doing?" Kai asked again.

Tori curled her lips and bit down on her lower one, "Just reading." She replied.

Kai raised a suspicious eyebrow at her, then being quiet to ask curiously, "About?"

"Nothing…"

"You can't read nothing."

Tori punched his shoulder and sat back as comfortably as he was, "You know what I mean." She told him.

"C'mon since when do we keep these things from each other?"

"You included? Then always."

Kai sighed flustered, "That's…"

"Not fair, I know, sorry. But it's really nothing."

Kai reached forward and pulled the heating laptop onto his lap, "Good, then you won't mind me seeing." Tori was about to protest but Kai opened the file anyway so she found it useless to even bother. Kai raised his eyebrows at the sight of the screen, then turned to look at Tori, "Psychological trauma?" he asked her, disbelief emitting through the rough voice.

Tori tried a laugh before speaking, "I just thought I'd do some research."

Kai moved the laptop over to Tori, dropping it onto her lap before getting up, "Then research away."

Tori moved the laptop onto the table and called after him before he could actually leave the room, "Come on, Kai! It's really not that bad, just sit down and take a look, at least for two minutes."

Kai turned to look at her again, seeing the bit of hope and pleading in her eyes. He sat down sideways on the arm of the sofa, his feet up on the sofa as he rested his arms on his knees, "So, talk." He told her.

Tori pulled the laptop back onto her and moved the screen back to be able to see properly through her imprecise vision, "Alright so I just looked at this because I wanted to check for the symptoms of it, you know just to get some information. And if you ask me you really do fit the profile but you can decide for yourself."

"So tell me what the symptoms are."

"People who go through traumatic experiences often have certain symptoms and problems afterward. How severe these symptoms are depends on the person, the type of trauma involved, and the emotional support they receive from others. This section is a general listing of possible symptoms, and is not exhaustive. Reactions to and symptoms of trauma can be wide and varied, and differ in severity from person to person. A traumatized individual may experience one or several of them." Tori began to read, being interrupted.

"Can you speed things up a little?" Kai asked, obviously getting fed up by everything Tori was on about.

"After a traumatic experience, a person may re-experience the trauma mentally and physically. Because this can be uncomfortable and sometimes painful, survivors tend to avoid reminders of the trauma. They may turn to alcohol and/or drugs to try and escape the feelings. Which if you ask me, suits you well so far."

Kai slid down onto the sofa to be closer to Tori, "But I was drinking before the nightmares even got that bad."

Tori glanced over to Kai and tried a sweet smile for him, hoping something about it would make him feel any better like it usually did, "Maybe your mind and body knew what was going to happen."

"I don't know. Just keep reading."

Tori, being left with nothing better to say, decided to as asked and continue reading it to him, "Re-experiencing symptoms are a sign that the body and mind are actively struggling to cope with the traumatic experience. Panic attacks are an example of a psychosomatic response to a large emotional trigger of past traumatic events. Intense feelings of anger may surface frequently, sometimes in very inappropriate or unexpected situations, as danger may always seem to be present. Upsetting memories such as images, thoughts, or flashbacks may haunt the person, and nightmares may be frequent. Insomnia may occur as lurking fears and insecurity keep the person vigilant and on the lookout for danger, both day and night. Sound familiar to you?"

Kai sat back, closing his eyes tiredly, "Yeah, definitely."

"Want me to finish?" Tori asked him quietly.

"Yeah."

The auburn-haired girl waited another minute to make sure Kai didn't change his mind before she slowly turned back to the screen and read, "In time, emotional exhaustion may set in, leading to distraction, and clear thinking may be difficult. Emotional detachment, also known as dissociation or "numbing out", can frequently occur. Dissociating from the painful emotion includes numbing all emotion, and the person may seem emotionally flat, preoccupied or distant. The person can become confused in ordinary situations and have memory problems."

"Great, now all I need is for my memory to go." Kai growled angrily in a whisper.

"You don't know for sure if that'd happen."

"Everything else did."

"Exactly. Which means that this may not necessarily happen."

"Just finish so I can go to bed." Kai told her coldly.

"You're going to bed already?" Tori asked confusedly.

"What's wrong with that?" Kai asked urgently.

Tori placed the laptop onto the coffee table and moved over to him slowly, "Nothing. It's just new…and an improvement." Tori was about to place a small kiss on Kai's lips, only landing on the corner of his mouth as Kai had moved his head away.

"Just finish reading." Kai told her, holding his head in the direction away from her.

Tori numbly turned back to the screen, sitting forward to avoid putting the hot computer back onto her lap before reading again shakily, "Some traumatized people may feel permanently damaged when trauma symptoms don't go away and they don't believe their situation will improve. This can lead to feelings of despair, loss of self-esteem, and frequently depression. If important aspects of the person's self and world understanding have been violated, the person may call their own identity into question. These symptoms can lead to stress or anxiety disorders, or even post traumatic stress disorder, where the person experiences flashbacks and re-experiences the emotion of the trauma as if it is actually happening."

Kai got off the sofa and headed towards the door, "Thanks." He said before leaving the room and walking down the hall.

"But Kai…" Tori whispered sadly. Her auburn haired shadowed her clear brown eyes when she lowered her head before she stood up and walked down the hall to her bedroom. She practically stormed into the room, "Don't mind me I'm just getting my shoes and bag." She said to Kai, who was startled by her entrance as all he'd been doing was lying on his stomach on the bed. Tori picked up her shoes from by the bathroom door and her black handbag that she'd put on the bed earlier. "See you later." She told him, walking out the room with a bang of her bedroom door.

Kai buried his face in his pillow, groaning painfully while muttering a muffled, "I had to screw it up."

"Are you purposely trying to suffocate yourself?"

Kai looked up at the owner of the voice, looking up at a baffled Denzelle, "Tori isn't here so you shouldn't be either." He told her rudely.

"Actually if Tori had died this place would be mine so I _can_ be here."

"Whatever, just stay out of my way."

Denzelle smirked and lay down beside him on her back, staring up at the ceiling, "Now Kai…you've known me long enough to know I can't do that."

"Can you start from now?"

"No, of course not." Denzelle laughed. Once hearing Kai didn't see the humour in it she stopped and sighed, "You know that we only want to help right? And that I'm not leaving you alone because you shouldn't be alone?"

"This is suffocating."

"Well smothering yourself with a pillow doesn't help either." Denzelle smiled sweetly at him, resisting the urge to laugh.

Kai looked up at her, his cold eyes emphasizing on his even colder glare, "I don't know what you find so funny."

"Oh well there are a lot of things I find funny. I find it funny that Tori's usually terrible at understanding psychology yet now she's reading up on it willingly, and I also find it funny that with Tori dieing this almost ended up to be like one of those sad romantic movies. I find both things quite funny now and you should too."

"How is it funny that I'm going insane, Tori was dieing and we liked each other, she scared the daylights out of me by almost dieing then surviving, she's healthy and I'm _still_ insane." Kai asked quickly, then blinked once he finished, "That's not funny, that's just weird."

"You see it like that but you have to try and see the funny part."

"How?" Kai asked, rolling his eyes at her.

Denzelle looked a little confused, then shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Rent Titanic or something."

Kai smirked and turned over and sat up against some pillows, "No thanks. I have enough trouble holding my food down as it is."

Denzelle smiled and rolled her eyes, "Typical male."

"Yeah, maybe that's the only normal part about me."

"You are normal with an extra kick, you're better than any other guy that Tori met. You and Tori have gotten pretty close over the time you've known each other, and I'm glad she did with someone…decent." Denzelle spoke honestly, all from the heart as she tilted her head to look at him.

"I'm nothing special and I owe her a lot for what she's done for me."

Denzelle sat up and moved over to sit opposite Kai, "You know Kai, you've done more for Tori than she could ever do for you. You just can't give yourself some credit for what you've done for her."

"Well what have I done? Nothing! I caused her more problems ever since I met her. The first time we met I bumped into her, she looked hurt but I just kept walking. From our first training I made it hell for her and we wouldn't stop arguing for weeks and all she wanted to do was help me. She snuck me out of the Dojo to relax when I should have been resting because she knew I didn't want to be there and I still treated her like dirt and even now, no matter how close we get I still don't treat her well." Kai yelled at Denzelle angrily, his heart beating furiously against his ribcage.

"You did nothing? Kai, you know what Tori's parents do for a living right?"

"Yeah, they're doctors." Kai replied, being frustrated by the sudden stupid question.

"Exactly and because they're doctors they were never around for Tori, they were never there when she was being poked and prodded by those stupid needles and she went through it alone but you stopped that. That was enough for her."

**_---Flashback--- _**

_"Toketu-san…" Tori called from inside the room, "He's a friend, let him in." she said. _

_Kai glared coldly at the doctor, walking straight past him and into the room. The room was pretty dark, one small light lit the corner of the room where Kai could see a pure white covered bed that Tori lay on. A nurse sat on a chair next to her, rolling up Tori's sleeve and working on putting the I.V into her arm. "Hey Kai…sit down." Tori said quietly. _

_"What's going on? What's wrong?" Kai asked her, not paying any attention to her earlier order. _

_Tori shut her eyes, her left hand squeezing tighter on her beyblade as a needle was pricked into her right arm. "Nothing to worry about, I'll tell you that much." The nurse said. _

_"She's right. I had a few fainting spells today so this should help me with that for a while." Tori said, opening her eyes to look at him again. "Don't look so shocked and scared. It's alright." She said, smiling as always. Kai stood there looking down at her, not sure whether he should be scared or angry. "Hey, you can go back to Tyson's if you like, I'll be fine by myself." _

_"No, I'm staying." Kai said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Tori smiled gratefully towards him, he himself nodding as a reply. "So how long is this going to take?" he asked after a while. _

_The doctor had left but the nurse just replied, "About an hour, then she can go back home." She got off her chair and walked towards the door, "I'll be back later to check on you." _

**_---End Flashback--- _**

"That's the only thing I've done for her but nothing else." Kai shouted.

Denzelle looked on at him, shaking her head suddenly before standing up and walking to the door. She placed her hand on the door handle, stopping for a moment to look down at her hand to speak, "Think about how far you two have come, and you'll realize you've done a lot more for her than you think now." She left quickly, her long silvery hair swaying behind her as she left, gently closing the door behind her.

Kai took a sharp deep breath before sitting back again properly against the soft pillows, resting back his aching head from all the yelling. He stared on at the ceiling, going over what Denzelle had said to him before making that big exit of hers.

**---With Denzelle- An Hour Later--- **

Denzelle sat on the sofa elegantly, a book in her dainty hand as she read quietly, her eyes scanning over the pages. For the most part, she had seemed to be enjoying the book, as far as you could tell from the peaceful and innocent look on her face at least. Her eyes moved to look to the corner of her eye when she heard the front door click and Tori's heels on the tiled floors as she heard her walk into the kitchen.

Tori dropped her keys and handbag onto the kitchen counter, then turning to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of cold water and pouring some out into a glass. She sipped it quietly, then turning to walk down the hall.

"Kai's still in your room, I would leave him alone for a while if I were you." Denzelle called from her position in the living room, her eyes still scanning over the pages of her book.

Tori shut her eyes, gritting her teeth as she turned back around and walked into the living room, "Why? What did you say to him?"

Denzelle moved the book from in front of her face, placing it down on the table in front of her, "Just that he should think about all you two have been through together and realize that he's helped you more than he thinks." She replied casually.

"That might take _forever_." Tori informed her.

"I doubt that. I think my words made quite an impact on him."

"How would you know?" Tori sat back comfortably in the armchair, arching her head back as she heard it emit a small crack from stress.

"Dranzer told me so."

"That explains a lot then."

Being interrupted by someone or something was something that always happened in that apartment between any of its members and this time was no different than all the others. Kai walked into the living room, feeling a little awkward since it appeared as though the two girls in the room where upset with him or something.

"How are you feeling?" Tori asked, breaking the silence of the group.

"Alright." Kai replied. He turned to Denzelle for a minute, softening up a little bit under her upset look, "Can I talk to Tori alone for a minute?"

Denzelle was going to refuse but both Tori and Kai looked at her with intense looks which made her pout and disappear in her usual bright light.

"You wanted to talk?" Tori asked him, once she knew the two where definitely alone and Denzelle nor Dranzer weren't intruding.

Kai sat down on the edge of the table to be closer to Tori, "I'm just really sorry."

"I know you are but what I don't know is _why_ are you sorry?"

"Because I'm always screwing things up. I just can't seem to get it right and I keep bringing up the same problems all the time and I'm sorry they're bringing you down."

Tori smiled just slightly at his words, "That's stupid. If I thought you were brining me down I wouldn't be here right now, you just make me feel better so really, there's no reason to be sorry."

"Have you realized that you and I can never end a conversation completely unless they're solved? You're always telling me the same things, every day you say the same things because I can't fix things the first time."

"You will eventually so that's what matters." Tori shrugged and moved closer to Kai, smiling softly at him as she spoke. "So, stop being sorry and shut up about it alright?" she moved an inch closer, dropping her lips on his for a second in a sweet, chaste kiss. Once the two parted they just smiled at each other, Tori moving forward and resting her chin on Kai's shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

**---Four Days Later--- **

Tori walked across the living room to the balcony, quickly sliding the door open, "Hey Kai, come in here before you give yourself a heart attack and fall over the railings." She called.

Kai turned from looking over the balcony and smiled, "I'm not that stupid." He told her while walking past her.

"I beg to differ." Tori joked, following him in and closing the door.

"Same here." Denzelle called from the sofa.

"You're all hilarious. I'm so glad you can all find some pleasure out my suffering." Kai added, falling back into the empty space by Denzelle on the sofa.

Tori laughed and walked back into the living room with a plate with a sandwich, passing it to Kai. "We don't mean it Kai, we're just trying to cheer you up that's all." She told him, sitting on the arm of the sofa and looking down at him.

"You're doing an excellent job at it." Kai said sarcastically before taking a bite of the sandwich.

"Yeah, we thought so too." Denzelle laughed.

"Well you really need to stop worrying about this results, I'm sure they'll be in soon." Tori said supportively, watching Kai eat from her sitting position.

Kai swallowed his food and replied, "I think they're just stalling because they can't call and tell me that I'm so screwed I can't be saved."

Denzelle rolled her eyes at his words and got up to go to the kitchen, "You're so overdramatic."

"And you're not screwed up, at all for that matter." Tori added.

Kai dropped the plate onto the table and sat back, looking up at Tori, "So, oh smart one, explain why they're taking so long."

"The hospital is always backed up with things, they're just taking a little longer then they expected, you shouldn't worry about it."

"You've been telling me that since we met, its getting old, not to mention it doesn't help." Kai told her.

"Just try to take it easy and stop fussing over the results." Denzelle called to him from the kitchen.

Tori nodded, "As surprising as this may sound, she's actually right this time."

"Of course I am." Denzelle walked back into the room with a bag of popcorn in hand, jumping back onto the sofa, "Personally if it were me, I wouldn't let the results of this thing affect my life style. Like, I could go to a nutritionist that will tell me I'll die if I keep eating junk food but that's not going to stop me from pinging out when I can."

Kai looked on at her softly, "Wow, you're as stupid as Tori." He said, earning himself a punch to the shoulder from Tori. "What? I'm being honest."

"Be honest when Tori _isn't_ sitting beside you." Denzelle advised.

"Will do."

"Yeah it's a good idea too because it would save your shoulder from the daily bruising." Tori pointed out to him.

"For some reason you'll find another reason to bruise me."

Tori smirked and leaned over, "You're right about that." She whispered, giving him a peck on the cheek.

Denzelle made a disgusted look on her face and groaned, "You two make me sick. At least can't you acknowledge the fact that I'm eating?" she asked.

Tori looked up at her, raising a delicate eyebrow, "Do you remember whose house you're in?" she asked her.

Denzelle looked shock now, pouting suddenly, "You're going to hold that against me now?" she asked, getting off the sofa again, walking past them before stopping beside them and pointing to Kai, "You're a bad influence on her." She told him before walking into the kitchen again.

"Thanks, that's all I needed to hear." Kai called to her sarcastically.

"Don't listen to her, she's babbling again." Tori told him with a laugh, getting off the arm of the sofa, picking up the newspaper and sitting in Denzelle's place, looking through the paper. "She shouldn't be too hard to ignore." She added.

"Since when do you read the paper?" Kai asked, looking on with some confusion.

"I don't usually but now that I'm living longer I need a job." Tori said, then her eyes widened at something on the page, "Damn why does exotic dancing pay so much?" she asked.

Kai snatched the paper from her and placed it down on the table again, "To help pay for your father and boyfriend's funeral when they find out." He replied.

Tori laughed at Kai's reply and took the newspaper back, "I'd never go for a job like that, it's something you _really_ don't need to worry about."

"That's extremely good news." Denzelle interrupted, walking back into the room, jumping in the space between Tori and Kai.

"Just when we think we got rid of you, you just keep coming back." Kai whispered, clearly saying things to try to get on Denzelle's nerves, a classic hobby for both mortal teenagers.

"I know! It's fun!" Denzelle squeeled. If Kai wanted to play that game, then she was going to fight back and try to get on his nerves just as much as he tried to get on hers.

"Play nice you two." Tori smirked, minding her own business by reading the paper, also using it to hide the large smile on her face.

"We are being nice." Denzelle exclaimed, insistently.

"Yeah, these are our nice days."

"Really? Then I'd hate to see what happens on your bad days." Tori muttered quietly. She heard her phone ringing down the hall which made her groan and stand up to go get it from her bedroom.

Kai and Denzelle glared at each other and Denzelle moved up to the other side of the sofa, continuing to snack on the buttered popcorn she had. Both turned to look at Tori when she walked back into the living room with her phone in hand, a shocked and sad look on her face as she stared down at the text on her phone.

"What is it?" Denzelle asked her Mistress curiously.

Tori sat down beside Kai and dropped her phone onto the table, resting her head in her hands as he stared at the ground, "Mom and dad want me to leave Japan and go back to moving around with them." She replied.

"What?! Why?" Kai asked urgently.

Tori shook her head, confusion, annoyance, and some pain etched onto her pale features, "I don't know, they didn't say."

Denzelle watched on as Kai slowly and carefully embraced Tori, the auburn haired girl resting against his chest with numerous thoughts running through her head. The loyal bit-beast shook her head a little before disappearing from the room in a white light, leaving the couple alone for a while.

**A/N: Another boring chapter as you clearly can see, well if you've had the patience to read this far. Please leave a review, this fic should be ending with a few more chapters and I'm sorry the chapter couldn't be any longer but I haven't had as much time as I used to. After this fic I may either start a new fic or continue the story, 'Angel Of Neglect' for those people who started reading it and enjoyed it. So please leave me a review and I'll update as soon as I can. Take care everyone! **


	32. A Happy Ending? You Decide!

**A/N: Final Chapter Everyone! Enjoy!**

_**Chapter 32**_

Tori ended the call on her phone, walking back down the hall to the living room where the other two still sat quietly waiting for her to come back from the urgent phone call with her parents. "So?" Denzelle asked, upon seeing her Mistress step foot in the room.

"They said they don't want me to be alone anymore and they want me to move around with them again."

Denzelle's eyes suddenly filled with some rage and she was quick to protest, "You were miserable with moving around though and moving doesn't help your stress levels, nor your recovery."

Tori shrugged and placed the phone onto the table, "The phone is here if you want to try to explain that to my parents." She announced, turning back to leave the room again. She entered the kitchen, picked up a glass of water and walking down the hall to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her and sitting down on her bed. She crossed her legs as she sat back against the pillows, slowly sipping at the freezing cold water, tears stinging her eyes the whole way through.

Kai opened the door ajar, taking a look inside at the slowly angering girl before he stepped in and walked over to her. The glass of water that was currently clutched in Tori's hand was soon taken from her by Kai once he reached the bedside. He placed the glass on the nightstand and took her hands to pull her up, "Come on, we're going out." He told her, tugging at her arms.

Tori looked up quickly at Kai, making the first bit of eye contact ever since she had started the conversation with her mom, "What? Where are we going?" she asked.

"For a walk. I think we both need it." Kai replied, pulling at her harder and lifting her up.

Tori pulled out of Kai's grip and fell back onto the bed, turning onto her side and burying her face in the pillow, "I'm not in the mood." She called out with a muffled voice.

Kai walked over to his side of the bed and sat down beside her, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers, "We'll work it out."

"I know we will."

"Then what's the problem?" Kai asked.

Tori turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling as always, "How many more things do we have to go through together before this thing breaks? I don't want us to break up but the odds are always against us." She kept whispering sadly, like something made her feel like the world was ending for her or something of the sort.

"I know but we'll make it work, don't make the mistake I do and worry over things that will probably work out fine."

Tori smiled and turned back over onto her side to face him, moving her hand out and placing it on his shoulder, "Maybe you should stop listening to everything I say, otherwise you could use it against me."

"It's a little late for that I think." Kai smirked.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Tori laughed in agreement. By now anyone knew that this was something that she did, she could turn from insanely depressed to amazingly chipper and it was weird yet also a strong gift. "Do you think I could cry hard enough to convince mom and dad to stay here?" she asked quietly, poking Kai's shoulder constantly with her index finger just for fun.

Kai sighed and pulled Tori closer, taking his sweet time to answer her, "I think that your parents are reasonable people and I think…if you beg hard enough they'll let you stay."

Tori smiled at his words, trying hard to hold back her laughs, "So I still need to beg even though they're reasonably people?" she asked.

Kai thought for a second, actually considering what she's saying before nodding, "Yes, most definitely."

The pale-faced girl laughed at his reply and look on his face as he said it, "I thought so."

"Well what did you really expect me to say? Your parents are reasonable but they're also as stubborn as you are, the both of them."

"Yeah, I get it from the two of them."

"It had to come from somewhere and with stubbornness like yours it had to come genetically passed because it surely doesn't come out of thin air." Kai told her, sounding like he was having fun teasing the girl about it…until she tried to use it against him that was.

"Hey, you're just as stubborn as I am, if not more!" Tori exclaimed, sitting up on her side with a growing smirk on her face.

"Yeah; I know for a fact that both my parents were stubborn." Kai turned onto his back and nodded as he said that, thinking back as far as he actually could to the vaguest of memories of his parents.

"Really?" Tori turned onto her back too, her hands placed delicately on her slender stomach as she kept her head turned to the side to be able to still look at Kai.

"Yeah. Both my parents put up big fights just before they died. At the rate my mother was falling ill she only had a couple of months, but because of her will to fight she lasted just over a year more than planned but I wasn't around to see her for most of that time." Kai explained quietly, staring at the ceiling before turning to look at Tori and smiling at the end of his sentence.

Tori smiled back at him and scooted over to him, resting her head on his shoulder for a comforting support for her aching head. She traced her fingers along his shoulders and running her blunt nail along every inch of muscle on Kai's arms, "You're lucky…you're so strong, physically and emotionally." She whispered to him, a sweet small smile always playing at her lips.

Kai turned his head to look at her again and smiled, "Isn't emotional strength what got me into this mess in the first place?"

Tori laughed, after all, what Kai had pointed out to her was actually the truth. Between a few quiet laughs she answered, "Partly I suppose that's true but you're lucky you have so much strength in you. You have the ability to be strong for others when you need to but you still have your own emotions. All you need is the knowledge to actually know when you should be strong and when you should let go."

"I know, I don't work well with letting go but you know I've tried. I think it's just something that has to stop going on by itself, not something I can control."

"Maybe you're right but we're not going to know until those results from the doctors come in so we don't need to think about it till then." Tori pointed out to him carefully, her fingers still tracing along the skin of Kai's arms, the sweetness of her touch not stopping nor slowing down as she had spoken.

"That is something I can agree with."

"Very good." Tori smiled and leaned over, giving Kai a sweet slow and quick kiss on the lips. Kai smiled up at Tori, the girl not hesitating to return it before she went back to resting her head onto his shoulder where she was most comfortable. "So it's agreed, I'm begging my mom and dad for me to stay here and not to leave." She said after about five minutes of silence.

"And I'm not going to worry about the results until they arrive, once they arrive _then_ I can worry." Kai nodded to himself as he made the decision final.

"Yeah, worry once they there's something to worry about." Tori laughed, taping her fingers against his stomach.

"Sounds like a good plan if you ask me."

"Then it's a final agreement, we'll sort things out and we can assure ourselves that it'll all work out alright later." Tori sat up and nodded to herself, then turned to Kai, "So by agreeing to this you're agreeing to resting well without worrying about your results so you should rest now before you change your mind."

"And I think you need to go yell at your parents for a few hours."

Tori smiled and placed a hand out onto Kai's shoulder, "I will yell at them and trust me, I'll enjoy it too." She stood up, gave him a peck on the cheek and walked out of the room, as they all were, she was careful to close the door behind her as she left.

_'You heard the lady, get to sleeping.' _Dranzer ordered, scolding in Kai's mind.

_'I will, just give me a few minutes.' _Kai told him coldly, obviously not liking Dranzer's tone with him.

_'A few minutes gives you enough time to worry about one thing or another so rest.' _Dranzer was always known for his stubbornness and persistence in order to look after his Master. True, the persistence didn't always work since Kai was twice as stubborn as Dranzer was and there was a tie between Tori and Kai's stubbornness which Dranzer couldn't match up to even if he tried to.

_'I won't worry about anything, just go and look out for Tori.' _Kai slid his body under the covers of the bed, resting his head back against the pillows as he ran his hand along the tense muscles of his shoulders where he could feel the pressure passing onto his arms which disallowed him to move so much.

_'She'll be fine; she needs to yell at her parents in peace. As much peace as you can get with Denzelle in the room.' _Clearly you can tell that everyone in this little family had taken an enjoyment of teasing the young female bit-beast for fun, even though there were some things Dranzer didn't dare to say to Denzelle in person.

Kai turned onto his side, resting his head on the nook of his arm as he closed his eyes and prepared to sleep, internally still speaking to Dranzer, _'As true as that is, I still want you to keep an eye on her and leave me alone for a while.' _

_'If you insist but I warn you, I **will** be checking on you.' _Dranzer warned, somehow sounding a little…victorious to say the least of it.

_'I'm sure you will, now go.' _Kai groaned aloud, stretched his arm out over the bed and pulled Tori's pillow over his head, a part of him probably hoping that Dranzer would take the large hint that he wasn't in the mood of talking to him.

_'Are you sure you're okay?' _

Kai grit his teeth, growing more and more tired by each moment that passed by, _'Will you leave me alone if I said 'please'?' _he asked Dranzer, hanging onto the last shred of patience his body could take.

_'Alright, I'm going. Rest well.' _

Kai moved the pillow off of him and put it back in its place even though his eyes were still sealed shut, exhaustion was nagging at him and his body and head were all aching from the stress it had all been under in the past few days.

Life was tough, everyday there was something new to worry about, cry about, hurt about or stress about. That was life, one problem after another. The good thing about life, was the people around you that made you feel like that the bad things about life shouldn't matter. If they still matter to you then at least your loved ones manage to get you to calm down about what's going on in your life. Sometimes your friends and family are the only ones around to help you think clearly. Kai didn't have any family left so he felt sort of abandoned by them all since none of them where there to be a positive influence on him but at the same time he was glad that they weren't there. If they were then he wouldn't have made such good friends. It took years of hard work to even be able to call them his real friends but it happened and they were friends now, something Kai had strived for so long to have.

In minutes Kai began to drift off to sleep after being drained of what was left of his energy. Even though he slept peacefully his mind continued to think about everything in his life, his friends, his whole life and all his problems. And you would think that since he were thinking about his problems too, he'd be breaking his promise to Tori and Dranzer but he wasn't. He couldn't control his dreams or nightmares and this time when he thought about the problems in his life he approached them in a slightly different way than he would have about a year ago.

The amazing thing really is that Kai saw that knowing Tori solved a lot of things in his life. The young girl made his life a living hell for the first month or so of knowing each other and then suddenly her making him miserable turned out to put him in his place long enough to try and sort things out for himself. She didn't treat him like he was weak or anything of the sort, she just stuck around and cared for him when he was too busy worrying about other things with not much time to focus on himself. She didn't make him feel like he couldn't do anything by himself, she just held on to him till he found he had enough strength to do the things he wanted to do alone.

It wasn't wrong, it just all felt right because one thing that Kai feared was suddenly feeling like he had to depend on someone to survive. It seemed to have ended up that way anyway but it just wasn't the same thing. A positive part of him seemed to have convinced him that things would be fine from then on but another part still there, feared she would still have to leave despite trying to convince her parents not to make her and not to mention those results that were still preying on his mind.

Those were the kind of memories and bad thoughts he wanted to stay as far away from as he could, the kind of things that made his nights like a living hell. Thankfully after a while his nights had seemed to get much better, he had nights where he could sleep for four peaceful hours and be fine when he woke up and at least he wasn't as afraid to fall asleep as he used to be when things where far worse than they were now. Even now, even when his mind was still running like a motor over various thoughts he still managed his peaceful slumber. Not that he'd had too much of any other choice as he was probably too tired to even bother to wake up from the rush of thoughts.

It was all surprising though. He was so tough, cold and cruel to Tori at times which goes to show he still kept his personality and it was there and was always called upon when needed. Then when he was asleep it was a completely different thing, he was like an angel because the innocence and serenity on his face was just something that you wouldn't normal see when he was awake, no matter how nice he was being, it was never the same as when he was asleep. It was an unimaginable expression and one that anyone would find disbelieving if they knew the cold-hearted Kai and his temper. In myth it was said that when someone was awake and when they were asleep it was like two completely different worlds, different people and this was a good example of it that proved it right.

Then moving in with Tori wasn't as much of a mistake as he'd originally thought. It turned out to do him some good because it got Tori to see more of the nicer side of him. It later got her to try to help him with his personal problems, his eating, his sleeping and just his nightmares in general and not to mention the mood swings. It took a lot out of him to be able to trust her long enough for her to try to help him but he managed after a while.

Knowing and hating one person, turned out making him have a slightly more comfortable life and made him trust a family that he needed and that wanted to help the person he inflicted so much pain onto, himself. There were countless times where he just wanted to strangle Tori and he even attempted it once before but now he was glad that she actually was in his life.

**_---Flashback--- _**

_"So you admit there's something to talk about that you're avoiding."_

_"Stop putting words in my mouth." Kai growled angrily at her. _

_Tori smiled lightly, staring up at the older teen, "Relax. I'm only coming up to you to ask you if you ate anything, I couldn't let you beybattle or train this team if you hadn't eaten anything in days." She said. _

_"I did. Now leave!" Kai said, pushing past her and walking into his room. _

_Tori walked in after him into the bedroom before Kai rammed her up into a wall. His fingers tightened around her neck while Tori's nails clawed at them for him to loosen the hold on her neck. She wasn't scared, she knew Kai wouldn't try kill her, he only wanted to scare her but it didn't seem to work on her that much. Once his grip loosened slightly her hands fell on his forearms, she stared up at him slightly panicked. It wasn't Kai's terrifying glare that panicked her, it was just that it didn't even look like he could control what he was doing and under the gentle touch of her hands Kai's skin had heated up. Through all the panic her senses had shut down until she came in contact with the hard ground beneath her. _

**_---End Flashback- Next Flashback--- _**

_Tori and Kai stood outside on the balcony, Kai's arms around Tori's waist while Tori held onto his hands as they both continued staring out over at the scenery of the dark night sky around them. Kai remained resting his chin on Tori's shoulder and suddenly Tori smiled contently, "What?" he asked her, wondering why she was smiling so suddenly. _

_"I'm really glad we met…even if it was us trying to kill each other at first." Tori smiled as she replied to him, giving a small sweet laugh at the end. _

_"Yeah, me too." _

_Tori smiled and rested her head back against Kai's shoulder, "And here I was thinking that you thought it was all a mistake." _

_Kai frowned a little and looked at her, "That's a really stupid thing to think about." _

_"I know but you know I can't help it sometime, like you can't help worrying so you have no right to judge." Tori nodded, putting up this tough façade to make her look unbreakable and just annoy Kai into thinking that he actually **couldn't** argue with her about it. _

_"Touché." _

_Tori lifted her head off her boyfriend and shifted a little uncomfortably, "So you don't think this is all a mistake?" _

_"Not even close." _

_Tori smiled and turned round to look at Kai, "I'm glad I'm not the only one then." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the lips, then resting her head against his chest while she wrapped her arms around his waist and he held onto her tightly. "Don't leave." She whispered, even though Kai didn't hear it because of the breeze that blew past the two. _

**_---End Flashbacks--- _**

It could have all been far worse for the two of them but everything turned out alright for both of them. Tori got the strength she needed to go through with the surgery and Kai gained friends and a better life style than the one he had when he was dealing with things by himself. Everyone hoped that things would one day be perfect but for now things were quite far off from perfect and they weren't going to be rushed into anything good, nothing would make things perfect until everything in his life was sorted out.

Tori placed her hand on the doorknob and slowly and quietly pushed open the bedroom door, peeking inside and watching Kai as he slept. She stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind her as she tiptoed to her bathroom. Despite Kai's sleep, he sensed someone else in the room and on instinct shot up in bed and looking over at Tori before turning and lying on his back. Tori turned back to the door, "Sorry, go back to sleep." She told him, turning to the door to leave again.

Kai was like that all the time, no matter what changed. He had this rather amazing but irritating all the same defensive system. Almost no matter how tired he actually was he'd wake up at the smallest sound or at the presence of anyone, no matter how trusting he was towards whoever he was surrounded by. "It's alright. Any good news?" He asked her, wiping any traces of sleep out of his crimson eyes, making an attempt to sit up properly.

Tori walked over to the bed and sat on her side of it, "Well it was a negotiation." She said.

Kai nodded and raised an eyebrow at her, "And?"

"They said I can stay here but in a few weeks they're going to go see some old friends of ours in California and they want me to go with them for sure."

Kai continued to look at her, a little frozen but otherwise fine, "That's the best negotiation I've heard in ages." He whispered.

"Yeah so this turned out like we'd hoped…partly."

Kai smiled and rolled his eyes at her, "It's the best we've got and it could always be worse so don't complain." He told her, giving her arm a light punch.

Tori laughed, obviously understanding where he was coming from, "Yeah I know, I'm not complaining." She got off the bed and walked over to the door, "Get some more rest." She ordered, leaving the room in under a second of her last words.

Kai shook his head and got out of the bed, walking into Tori's bathroom and fixing himself up. He snuck out into the hall, put on his shoes and walked over to the front door, stretching his stiff arm to open the door. "Where are you going?" Tori asked, standing behind him against the kitchen door frame.

"Out, first for a walk and then to check on the others." Kai replied, opening the front door and stepping out.

Tori shrugged, not seeming to care this time about where he went, "Alright, have fun." She turned and walked back into the kitchen to make herself some dinner.

Kai left the apartment in a hurry, leaving Tori in the apartment with her loyal bit-beast for some company. The two girls where left to have a girls night in basically, watching movies together, eating whatever junk food Denzelle had bought when she was at the store along with the buttered popcorn Tori actually liked. It was one night where they didn't worry about each other and Kai was allowed a peaceful night out on his own which she was sure he'd enjoy.

**---Next Day- 1:30pm--- **

Tori and Denzelle had had a long night, staying awake till 2am watching movies. Kai had come home at midnight and had watched about fifteen minutes of the movie, realized it was some crappy love story and suddenly decided that he was tired. Tori and Denzelle had laughed at it but passed it off and continued to watch the movie till 2am. Denzelle had disappeared off into her blade, Tori had gone to bed and didn't dare wake up till it was midday and she was sure she wasn't going to collapse from exhaustion once she got up.

Once she got up she made lunch for her and Kai but Kai had apparently already eaten by the time she'd woken up. Commenting, "A lot of things seem to happen when I sleep."

Tori walked into the living room, not seeing Kai there like she'd expected him to be. She smiled and sighed, catching sight of him out on the balcony. She gave up on asking why he was ever out there because the only answer she ever seemed to get was, "I needed some fresh air." She walked over to the boy outside, grabbed onto his arm and dragged him inside. "Come on, no more staying outside." She told him, tugging at him harder.

Kai turned round, wincing slightly at the amazingly tight hold on his arm, "Alright, calm down." He told her, willingly walking inside and sliding the screen door closed behind him. "Ever since your surgery you really got your strength back." He added, picking up Tori and falling back onto the sofa.

Tori grinned and latched her arm onto Kai's and cuddled up close to him, "I know! It feels great!" she exclaimed happily.

"I see you enjoy it." Kai laughed, giving Tori a tender kiss on the cheek. "So why the jumpy mood?" he asked after a moment.

Tori shook her head quickly, her auburn fringe moving in the front of her face cutely, "I have no idea. I just got hyper." She replied hurriedly.

"No more chocolate and late nights for you." Kai groaned, a hyper Tori was one that wasn't so much fun to deal with if you were afraid of losing your sanity.

"But…that's not fair!" Tori shouted, pouting in an adorable protest.

Kai smirked and held onto her tighter, pulling her into a comforting embrace, one that also stopped her from jumping around as much, "Life isn't fair, you know that." He whispered.

"I know that, silly."

"Who are you calling silly, silly?"

Tori laughed and balled her fist, hitting Kai in the stomach, not lightly and neither harshly as it seemed as though she couldn't control her own strength anymore. "I'm not silly." She muttered.

"Keep on telling yourself that."

Tori smiled up at him, a sense of victory on her face, "Thanks I will."

Kai sighed and shook his head, "You're far too stubborn for your own good. It's going to get you into more serious trouble one day."

Tori smiled a little mischievously, biting down on her tongue for a second as she contemplated on speaking when she decided to do so, "I'm with you, I'm already in serious trouble."

"I just love your sense of humour." Kai told her sarcastically.

"Tha-" Tori started off with her thanks but was interrupted by Kai's phone ringing and vibrating on the coffee table.

Kai groaned, loosening his hold on Tori as he leaned forward and picked the phone up. He stared on at the phone in his hand as it rang, watching the name on the screen flash constantly. Tori leaned over slightly to look at the phone and took a slow breath before taking the phone from Kai's hand, "Wait here." She told him, flicking open the phone and leaving the room.

Kai nodded, even after Tori had left. He sat back, resting his head back as he closed his eyes and tried to pretend like nothing was happening. Telling himself that it was fine. Denzelle appeared beside him , her presence being ignored by Kai until she put a hand on his shoulder which made him open his eyes to look at her.

She smiled sweetly, obviously she never had taken any offence to his rudeness towards her, "Don't worry." She whispered sweetly, giving a supportive smile and nod.

The two waited in complete silence till Tori quietly walked back into the living room again. She clutched the phone in her hand as she nodded and signaled Denzelle to give them a minute, Denzelle obliging and disappearing from the room in an instant. Tori sat down beside Kai and cuddled up next to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulled him to rest against him. Kai took it as some sort of hint and looked up at her, "It's that bad?" he asked hoarsely.

Tori smiled, "No. It's that good." She answered quietly.

Kai looked up at her with a little confusion on his face, his mouth opening slightly in a silent question till he brought up enough of his voice to speak properly, "What do you mean?"

Tori smiled, her eyes shining with the same sense of happiness and encouragement, "You've got APTSD, Acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's 'acute' so not as serious as any of us thought. The doctor thinks you can handle it for now but he wants to check you over again in two months to see how you are, if things keep persisting than he wants you to try some anti-anxiety medication, particularly to hold down the panic attacks if they persist too." She explained quietly.

Kai nodded a little numbly, taking in all of Tori's explanation. He took in a deep breath which helped him take it in quicker, calming him down and making him sit back comfortably.

Tori smiled at the way he handled it, stroking his cheek softly, "This doesn't mean you're going to handle it all alone." She reminded. Kai looked up at her quickly, a little disappointedly at the same time thinking that he was going to be stuck on medication anyway. Tori spoke again, pulling at him more to bring him close, "You're going to have me with you and the others and you need to talk to us when something is wrong, got it?"

Kai nodded quickly, almost willingly to avoid ruining anything in his life by what he considered…slipping up. "I will." He agreed, whispering hoarsely, remaining strong as he said it, rubbing at his eyes from his tiredness and the moisture that was in there. It felt like a really close call for him. He was always worrying that to him these results would be the end of him and most likely the end of his self-esteem if things got worse but hearing that things weren't as bad as he thought than that was more than just a load off his shoulders which definitely made him feel a lot better.

Tori pulled her arms around him tighter, giving him a few sweet kisses on his cheek as they remained in the same embrace for a few minutes, Tori smiling contently as she continued to stare down at the boy. Denzelle appeared again just behind Kai, smiling really happily as she placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down close to his ear to whisper to him, "Kai…Dranzer and I would hate to say we told you so but…we told you so." She finished her sentence with a laugh before disappearing from the room, being sure that Kai would have hit her or something for even saying that.

Strangely enough all Kai did was smirk before pulling out of Tori's arms and sitting up properly, smiling as he went over some things in his head. Tori enjoyed watching Kai relax for a while, smiling happily as she watched it, feeling good that the one she cared so much about was starting to feel a little better. Even if it was just a little bit. She decided she should remain quiet and just sat there as she didn't mind feeling blank, or feeling like she was doing nothing because really and truly she was watching him be happy which was something good enough to fill her heart which didn't make her feel so empty.

**---Two Days Later--- **

It was close to the end of training and Tori stood on the porch, watching the beybattle between the three team members as she got each of them to play to perfection. Tyson had been the first one to be knocked out of the bey dish, as Tori had put so nicely put it, his failure had been the cause of his wondering mind. Tori was about to comment on Max's next defeat as it was within a second of happening when she'd been pulled back off the porch and swung inside the Dojo by a force she hadn't seen at first.

Tori looked up at Kai as he stood in front of her, smirking down at her as she looked at him surprised at his attendance, "Hey what are you doing? You're meant to be at the apartment." She whispered in hopes the team outside wouldn't hear her as most likely they'd think she were insane as Kai was not meant to be there.

Kai put his hands on Tori's waist and lifted her off the ground a little, giving her a sweet and passionate kiss on the lips that ended up lasting longer than Tori even thought they could possibly last. Tori pulled away quickly, bumping into the wall behind her as she fell back, breathing quite heavily from just one kiss she didn't think was humanely possible.

Tori's eyes widened as she continued to look at him strangely, "What was that for?" she breathed out quietly.

Kai just shrugged a little, going back to wrapping his arms around Tori's waist and holding her close, "Nothing. It doesn't always have to be just for something." He replied.

Tori placed her hands onto his shoulders, in the meantime raising an eyebrow at him and holding the whole look for a moment before speaking, "You came all the way over here from the apartment just to kiss me?" she asked disbelievingly.

"I suppose." Kai shrugged slightly at the same time.

Tori laughed at him, grabbing onto his shirt and giving him a quick peck on the lips before turning to leave the room, "You're really sweet but I have my work to do and you need to go back to the apartment." She told him, turning and attempting to leave.

Kai grabbed her hand just before she'd swung out the door, pulling her back into the room where they'd had one more minute by themselves. Tori was pulled into another, although shorter kiss than earlier but one that had as much dear to her as the first, once she pulled away she continued to look up at Kai a little numbly, watching as he seemed to have struggled to say something. "I love you." Were the three words that quietly and very vaguely crossed his lips.

Tori smiled happily, it being the first time he'd said that to her in person, it being the second time he'd said it at all. She stood up straight to reach him and gave him a sweeter kiss than he'd given her, one that sent sweet chills down their spines. Tori didn't pull away but squinted slightly when she'd heard a small creaking sound coming from somewhere in the room.

"Ooh kissing!" Max shouted. The blonde boy had been watching from the entrance of the Dojo as all three stood on the porch and peeked in from the door. Both teenagers in love pulled away quickly and turned to the door that was behind Tori.

The auburn-haired girl gaped and before any of them knew it she'd let go of Kai despite the comforting embrace and ran out of the Dojo and into the yard, "Max, I'm going to kill you!" she shouted. At the same time she decided to ignore Tyson and Ray for the other two obvious intruders as she knew Kai would get to them himself which left the younger blonde to suffer at her hands. Well, it wasn't really suffering, all they did was chase each other for a few minutes, then Tori catching up she wrestled Max down and tickled him for a few minutes till he decided to beg for mercy.

Kai on the other hand, well the blonde and the auburn-haired teenagers didn't quite get what Kai had done to the other two because Kai grabbed them by the back of their shirts and back into the Dojo for, most likely a yelling but everyone else feared to have wondered what happened them which just made Tori laugh at the thought of it.

So this wasn't exactly their happy ever after but it was the closest they were getting to it. Tori didn't quite end up confident enough to ever go swimming, not for a few years at least. Kai still had nightmares, a little more than occasionally but he still survived it all. He also didn't have any intentions of telling her any more about his past, not for a while most definitely. The two still had a lot they kept from each other. After a while Tori had given Kai all the files he had about him but he'd just kept them under the bed for safekeeping till he thought that he could handle reading about his past. Tori had gone to California with her parents, Kai had stayed behind but considering Tori was back within two weeks it wasn't as hard to deal with as he or any of them had thought to begin with. All in all it turned out to be as good as it could ever be for them but they all moved on with the hope that one day that things could be perfect. They just all had to wait and see what hand Fate dealt them next in the game they called life.

**A/N: It's over! I can't believe it's over! Man this is getting emotional for me. I spent a lot of time writing this fic and I put a lot of energy in it. With luck I'd even get 200 reviews with this fic which was my original goal. **

**One thing I wanted in this fic was to write something that didn't seem far too corny or something that made Kai too OOC. I really hope I managed not to destroy his character completely but I think I managed to maintain at least a little bit of him in there. Also, I didn't want it to be one of those stories where he'd tell the girl everything about his life, I wanted there to still be some mystery about that, for himself, for Tori and for the readers. I didn't want to make it as thought Kai trusted her completely because that's just not Kai. I don't think he has the capabilities of trusting someone to the full and handing himself over completely and I wanted this fic to be a representation of that. Something else, I really _really_ didn't want this fic to be the type where it's just either all angst or all lovey dovey or something like that. I wanted the angst to be in there, I wanted the love to build off of that anxiety that the characters felt and I wanted to involve ym study of psychology. **

**By the end of this fic I think you all learned a little something about psychology without having to learn it in one of the most boring of ways. Fine so maybe not everyone is into psychology but I didn't want this story to be completely based on something that isn't real, I wanted the real life problems in there to help make people aware of what other people go through and to help people relate to these emotions. I myself went through an emotional rollercoaster writing this story, trying to put myself in the point of view of the characters all the time which gave me quite a large amount of mood swings which in a good way meant that I succeeded in putting emotion into this. **

**I really hope that some of you have enjoyed this story and I'd like to thank everyone who's stuck with me and this story for so long. It means a lot! Thanks for everything and surely all your support! **


	33. Notice Sequel

_**Notice**_

My current story, "Blades Will Be Drawn" will probably be put on hold for a while due to some difficulties. The story hasn't been going too well either so I'm going to take some time to work on it.

In the meantime I'm going to be writing the sequel to Cats And Dogs since the story seemed to be loved so much. The first chapter will be up sometime soon so look forward to it.

Sincerely yours,

Usagi-chan, Phoenix From The Flames 1978


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